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University ol the State of New York Bulletin 

Entered as second-class matter August 2, 1013, at the Post Office at Albany, N. Y., under the act 

of August 24, 1012, Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for 

in section 1103, act of October 3, 1917, authorized July 10, 1018 

Published fortnightly 



No. 738 



ALBANY, N. Y. 



July 15, 1921 



SURVEY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY SCHOOLS 



_ . . PAGE 

General description of Livingston 
county 3 

The rural school plant. 7 

Age, grade and progress of children 
in the eight elementary grades. . 36 

The teaching corps — the elemen- 
tary teachers 61 



PAGE 

The teaching corps — the second- 
ary teachers 85 

Appendix T05 

Measurements of achievements 
of pupils I0 Q 

The support of schools in Living- 
ston county 132 

Index ■...;.,'■ i 4I 



ALBANY 

THE UNIVERSITY OP THE STATE OP NEW YORK 

1922 



*0 



<#» 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

Regents of the University 
With years when terms expire 

(Revised to March is, 1922) 

1926 Pliny T. Sexton LL.B. LL.D. Chancellor Emeritus Palmyra 
1934 Chester S. Lord M.A. LL.D. Chancellor - - Brooklyn 

1924 Adelbert Moot LL.D. Vice Chancellor - - - Buffalo 

1927 Albert Vander Veer M.D. M.A. Ph.D. LL.D. Albany 

1925 Charles B. Alexander M.A. LL.B. LL.D. 

Litt.D. ------------ Tuxedo 

1928 Walter Guest Kellogg B.A. LL.D. - - - Ogdensburg 

1932 James Byrne B.A. LL.B. LL.D. ----- New York 

1929 Herbert L. Bridgman M.A. LL.D. - - - - Brooklyn 

1 93 1 Thomas J. Mangan M.A. ----- - Binghamton 

1933 William J. Wallin M.A. --____ Yonkers 
1923 William Bondy M.A. LL.B. Ph.D. - - - - New York 

1930 William P. Baker B.L. Litt.D. ----- Syracuse 

President of the University and Commissioner of Education 

Frank P. Graves Ph.D. Litt.D. L.H.D. LL.D. 

Deputy Commissioner and Counsel 

Frank B. Gilbert B.A. LL.D. 

Assistant Commissioner and Director of Professional Education 

Augustus S. Downing M.A. Pd.D. L.H.D. LL.D. 

Assistant Commissioner for Secondary Education 

Charles F. Wheelock B.S. Pd.D. LL.D. 

Assistant Commissioner for Elementary. Education 

George M. Wiley M.A. Pd.D. LL.D. 

Director of State Library 

James I. Wyer M.L.S. Pd.D. 

Director of Science and State Museum 

John M. Clarke D.Sc. LL.D. 

Chiefs and Directors of Divisions 

Administration, Hiram C. Case 

Archives and History, James Sullivan M.A. Ph.D. 

Attendance, James D. Sullivan 

Examinations and Inspections, Avery W. Skinner B.A. 

Finance, Clark W. Halliday 

Law, Frank B. Gilbert B.A. LL.D., Counsel 

Library Extension, William R. Watson B.S. 

Library School, Edna M. Sanderson B.A. B.L.S. 

School Buildings and Grounds, Frank H. Wood M.A. 

School Libraries, Sherman Williams Pd.D. 

Visual Instruction, Alfred W. Abrams Ph.B. 

Vocational and Extension Education, Lewis A. Wilson 



1*$. 



f[ 






^ 
J 



FOREWORD 

The Livingston county survey was carried forward through the 
cooperation of superintendents, principals and teachers in the county 
schools. It is an " inside " survey. The work was completed in 
19 1 9. The major part of the work covering the school plant and the 
teaching staff was done by Superintendent J. Murray Foster of 
Corning who was at that time in charge of the Dansville schools 
in Livingston county. Superintendent Foster gave a large amount 
of time to this work and made a very thorough study of the local 
conditions. The results of his work are apparent in the painstaking 
report and the constructive recommendations that are made. 

The section dealing with the measurements of classroom instruc- 
tion was done under the direction of Professor Kruse of the State 
College of Agriculture, Ithaca. The section dealing with costs and 
finances was prepared by Professor Works of the State College of 
Agriculture. 



University ol the State oi New York Bulletin 

Entered as second-class matter August 2, 1913, at the Post-Office at Albany, N. Y., under the 

act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided 

for in section 1103, act of October 3, 1917, authorized July 19, 1918 

Published Fortnightly 
No. 738 ALBANY, N. Y. July 15, 192 1 

SURVEY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY SCHOOLS 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY 

Livingston county is located in the west-central part of New 
York State about 50 miles east of Lake Erie. To the north Monroe 
county lies between it and Lake Ontario, and to the south Allegany 
and Steuben counties lie between it and the Pennsylvania border. 
It is approximately a rectangle in shape, with an area of 629 square 
miles. 1 

Topography and Soils 

The range in altitude in the county is 1740 feet. In the northern 
end lies the lowest point which is 520 feet above sea level, and in 
the southeastern corner lies the highest which is 2260 feet above 
sea level. The county is comparatively level in the north, with low 
hills of the drumlin type. The Dunkirk soils prevail. From south 
to north lies the Genesee valley in which runs the Genesee river. 
The northern part of this valley has a very low gradient, which 
causes the river to be sluggish and meandering. In the springtime 
and during periods of heavy rainfall this stream leaves its bed and 
overflows the flat lands that border it, thereby making them un- 
suited for other than grazing purposes. On these flat lands graze 
the famous Wadsworth herds of cattle. 

The southern end of the county is high, and scattered thickly 
over it are high round hills with narrow valleys between them. 
The predominant soils are the Volusia loams. An exception to 
this characterization is the Canaseraga creek valley which is about 
2 miles wide, 15 miles long, and very level. The fall in this valley 
from Dansville to Mount Morris (a distance of about 15 miles) is 
but 50 feet, with the result that much of the valley is a swamp. 
Some of this land has been reclaimed through the efforts of the 
State Conservation Commission. At the junction of the Canaseraga 
and the Genesee valleys, the land is ideal for raising canning crops. 
At the southern end of the Canaseraga valley the conditions are 
nearly if not perfect for the raising of nursery stock. About Dans- 

1 Soil Survey of Livingston Co., U. S. Dep't of Agriculture. 

[3] 



4 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

ville approximately fifteen million young fruit trees were growing 
during the season of 1916. In the northeastern corner of the county 
in the town of Lima are extensive muck beds on which are grown 
much celery and truck. The raising of these specialized crops affords 
lucrative employment for children, particularly in the nursery 
industry where it is a common thing to find boys of 14 and 15 earn- 
ing $2 a day during certain seasons of the year. 

With the exception of these specialized crops, general farming 
prevails, with potatoes predominating in the south and beans in 
the north. The Volusia soils are the least valuable lands and the 
cultivated muck beds and the lands devoted to the nursery and 
canning crops are the most valuable. In the northern half of the 
county are rich deposits of salt. 

History 

The settlement of the county began shortly after the Revolution 
when people from Pennsylvania and the New England States came 
to make their homes in the Genesee valley. Other early settlers 
were many Scotch families who made their homes in the northwestern 
part. Settlers continued to come from Pennsylvania and New 
England for many years. Some Germans settled in the south- 
eastern part and many Irish made their homes in almost every 
section of the county. In the latter part of the last century there 
came an influx of Italians, Sicilians and some Slavs. These have 
settled in Mount Morris, Geneseo, Avon, Greigsville, Retsof, Wads- 
worth and Cuylerville, where they were attracted by the canning 
factories in the first three places, and by the salt mines in the others. 

Recent Immigrants 

Unlike the other immigrants, the late comers have settled in 
colonies in which there is a decidedly foreign atmosphere. But 
little English is spoken and the customs and manners are distinctly 
foreign. It is very significant to see in many of these, vineyards 
about the front of the homes and the men preparing gardens with 
a sort of grub hoe. In some of these colonies observers would hardly 
think they were in America. Under such conditions Americaniza- 
tion of these peoples is a difficult problem. 

These foreigners are thrifty and energetic. Both men and women 
are usually wage-earners. The families are large. One distinctive 
feature of these colonies is the large number of children who swarm 
in the streets at play, shouting and conversing in a foreign tongue. 

)~ "** UBRARY OF CONGRESS 

i APR87T92? 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 5 

Population 

According to the 19 18 New York State Legislative Manual, the 

population of Livingston county beginning with 1875 has been as 

follows : 

1875 38518 1905 36450 

1890 37801 1910 38037 

1892 37010 1915 38427 

1900 37059 

According to the state census of 19 15, 16,7.37 of the population 

lived in these eight villages: 

Dansville 4023 Caledonia 1240 

Mount Morris 3728 Nunda 114° 

Avon 2430 Lima 1062 

Geneseo 2256 Livonia 857 

The county, therefore, may be considered a rural New York county- 
Occupations of the People 

The predominant occupation of the people in Livingston county 
is agriculture. There are, according to the Soil Survey made by 
the United States Department of Agriculture in 1908, 373,660 acres 
of farm land. Of this acreage only 80 per cent, or 301,850, is classed 
as improved. About 175,000 acres are in sod and about 125,000 
acres are in cultivated fields. 

Although agriculture predominates in the county, there are im- 
portant diversified industrial plants at Dansville, Mount Morris, 
Nunda, Avon and Lima. Those at Dansville are the largest in the 
county with approximately 1000 people on their pay rolls. 

There are extensive salt mines at Retsof, Greigsville and Cuyler- 
ville, and one small salt refinery is located at Piffard. 

Roads and Railroads 

Livingston county has 124.7 miles of county and state improved 
roads, in addition to which it has many excellent turnpike roads 
in the northern end. In the south the roads are very crooked, 
hilly, and at certain times of the year very bad. 

The railroad transportation facilities of the county for the most 
part consist of the Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Delaware, Lackawanna 
and Western. The extreme northern end is served by the Lehigh 
Valley, the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh and a branch of the 
New York Central. There are two small independent railroads — 
the Dansville and Mount Morris and the Genesee and Wyoming 
Valley, the latter connecting the salt mines with the other railroads 
of the county. The Erie from Mount Morris to Rochester is elec- 
trified and runs trains approximately every two hours to and from 
Rochester. 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Prosperity of the People 

There are four national banks, four state banks, one trust company , 
and eight private or cooperative banks in the county. Since the 
amount of deposits in the private banks is not available and since 
much business is done with banks in Rochester, no attempt will be 
made to use the deposits in the banks to indicate the prosperity of 
the people. One indication, however, is the fact that in 191 7 there 
were 3300 pleasure automobiles owned in the county. The number 
of pleasure automobiles to each thousand inhabitants in Livingston 
and adjoining counties is as follows: Ontario 88, Livingston 86, 
Genesee 70, Wyoming 68, Allegany 65, Steuben 52. 



MONROE 



COUNTY 

MAP 

LIVINGSTON 



COl/AITY 




RLLEGANY CO 
Scale fc^^i'es — _, 



Legend. 
S-tote Wormol- 
Seminary - □ 
Hiqh School? • ■ 
UnitflSth.,!! • * 



Fig. i 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 7 

Schools 

For the purpose of supervising public education, the county has 
been divided into three supervisory districts with a district super- 
intendent of schools in charge of each. District i lies in the northern 
end and consists of the towns of Caledonia, Avon, York, Leicester, 
Geneseo and Groveland. District 2 is to the east and runs the entire 
length of the county. It is made up of the towns of Lima, Livonia, 
Conesus, Sparta and Spring water. In the south end lies the third 
district consisting of the towns of Mount Morris, West Sparta, 
Ossian, North Dansville, Nunda and Portage. In the whole county 
there are 7 union high schools — Avon, Caledonia, Dansville, Greigs- 
ville, Livonia, Mount Morris and Nunda; 5 parochial schools — 
St Rose's at Lima, St Agnes' at Avon, St Patrick's at Mount Morris, 
and St Mary's and St Patrick's at Dansville; a state normal school 
at Geneseo, which has a practice school department and an academic 
department; a private secondary school known as the Genesee 
Wesleyan Seminary at Lima; a trade school maintained by the 
State for epileptic children at Sonyea; 14 two or more department 
rural schools; and 136 one-room rural schools. 

THE RURAL SCHOOL PLANT 

Introduction 

In Livingston county there are 2266 children who attend public 
schools which are outside of incorporated villages and which give 
but eight years of instruction. These schools are classified in this 
study as rural elementary schools. It is the purpose of this chapter 
to give the results of a study of the buildings, grounds and equipment 
of these schools and to offer recommendations for their improvement. 

Method of Securing the Data 

A questionnaire concerning the rural school plant was distributed 
to the rural school teachers at a county conference called by the 
district superintendents at the Geneseo State Normal School, No- 
vember 23, 19 1 7. These questions were explained thoroughly to the 
teachers who were instructed to prepare the answers to them and 
forward them to the district superintendents. The officials checked 
the answers for gross errors and for omissions. These teachers 
were also asked to draw scale plans of their school buildings and 
grounds and to send them to the district superintendents, who 
.checked them before they were turned over to the surveyors. 



8 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



School Buildings 

All the 150 buildings are wooden structures, with the exception 
of 4 which are brick and 2 which are stone and cement. A large 
majority of them were built at least a generation ago — some several 
generations ago — as is shown by table 1 . 

Table i 



Dates of erection of the school buildings 



PERIOD 

1810-1814. . 
1815-1819. . 
1820-1824. . 
1 825-1 829. . 
1830-1834.. 
1 835-1 839.. 
1 840-1 844. . 
1 845-1 849. . 
1850-1854.. 

1855-1859- • 
1 860-1 864. . 
1 865-1 869. . 
1870-1874. . 



NO. 

BUILDINGS 
BUILT 

I 

3 
1 
2 
2 
3 
7 
11 

9 
14 
12 

9 
19 



PERIOD 

I875-I879- •■• 

I880-1884 

1 885-1 889 

I89O-I894. . . . 
I 895-I 899. ... 
I9OO-I9O4. . . . 

1 905-1 909 

I9IO-I9I4. . . . 

1915- to date. 
No date given . 



NO. 

BUILDINGS 

BUILT 

9 
6 

5 
2 

5 

2 

10 

3 
1 

13 



Total buildings 



149 



It is a significant fact that 4 of the buildings are more than a cen- 
tury old. All but the most recently built are of the same type — 
an oblong boxlike structure with a gable roof, windows on two, three, 
or all four sides, and a door at one end. The architecture of farm 
homes, barns and other farm buildings has changed but not that of 
the rural school. 

Most of the buildings have been painted since 19 10, 24 were 
painted last between 1905 and 19 10; 18 have not been painted since 
1905; and 2 have not been painted in the last 35 years. To paint a 
building frequently is good economy, and adds to its attractiveness. 

Too little care has been taken of the windows. Sixty-eight schools 
have one or more broken window panes. One school has 24 panes 
broken, another 20, another 14, two 13, two 11, and two 10. These 
should be replaced immediately with whole panes of glass. 

Interior of the School Buildings 

Number of Schoolrooms 
One building has four schoolrooms, 11 have two, and 137 have one. 
Seventy-seven schools have no cloak rooms, and 99 have no fuel 



1 One two-department school was destroyed by fire and had not been rebuilt 
at the time this study was made. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 9 

rooms. Some of the buildings which have two schoolrooms have a 
separate room for a library and the recently built schools have base- 
ments which are suitable for play and workroom purposes. 

Size and Shape of Schoolrooms 
In practically all cases the schoolrooms have a floor area ample 
for the number of children they accommodate. But the height of 
very many is not sufficient to secure ample air space for the pupils. 
There are five rooms that are but 8 feet in height, nine 8| feet, four- 
teen 9 feet, eighteen 9! feet,- twenty-one 10 feet, thirteen io| feet, 
twelve 11 feet, and ten n| feet. All others are 12 or more feet in 
height. Most schoolrooms should be at least 12 feet in height. 1 In 
shape, nearly all the rooms are rectangular. A very few are square. 
The rectangular shape is correct. 

Walls 

Of the 163 schoolrooms, more than half have walls of matched 
lumber. Thirty-seven have plastered walls and 22 have a combina- 
tion of lumber and plaster for their walls. About two-thirds of the 
rooms have matched lumber ceilings. Forty-six have plastered 
ceilings, 2 a combination of matched lumber and plaster, and 9 
steel. The matched lumber is not so desirable as plaster because 
it is less attractive when decorated and less sanitary. Steel 
ceilings are preferable. 

Sixteen schools have papered walls and 10 have part of the walls 
papered and part painted. The remainder have painted walls. 
Some of them are sadly in need of repainting. Almost all the ceilings 
are painted. Schoolroom walls should never be papered. Paint 
which produces a dull surface is by far the best for wooden walls and 
for wooden and steel ceilings. Plaster walls should be treated with 
a dull finish similar to calcimine, that glaring surfaces may be avoided. 

The coloring of the walls and ceilings is very diverse and in many 
cases very unusual. Thirty-five schoolrooms are painted gray, 
which is the most used color. Among the unusual colorings are red 
and green, red, bright blue, green and gray, and orange. In 72 
schoolrooms the walls and ceilings are decorated in the same color. 
Nearly all the other rooms have colors that do not harmonize, one 
room having its walls blue and its ceiling green. One ceiling is so 
besmoked that it is very difficult to tell what color it once was. 

It is recommended that when the rooms are decorated the following 
colors be used : cream, light gray, lemon, straw and light gray green 

1 Challman, " The Rural School Plant," p. 63. 



IO 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



on the side walls and a lighter shade of the same color on the ceiling. 
The light green should be used only on rooms that have the light 
coming from the south. Bright colors should always be avoided. 1 

1 Dresslar, School Hygiene, p. 80; Challman, "The Rural School Plant," p. 70; 
Education Department Annual Report 1915, v. 3, p. 52. 

Light 




LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



II 



There are 12 schoolrooms which have windows on all four sides 
of the schoolroom. Sixty-six have windows on three sides and 4 
have them on one side only. The schools which have these four 
rooms are to be as warmly commended as are the 12 to be condemned 
which compel their children to face the light from windows at the 
front of the room. The windows at the front and at the right of 




A MODERN RURAL SCHOOL IN THE TOWN OF CALEDONIA 

Attention is called to the arrangement of the windows. This building faces the north and has a 
basement with a cement floor. 



the pupils should be removed if these buildings are worth permanent 
improvement, permitting light to come to the pupil's desk from the 
left and also, if necessary, from the rear, complying with the state 
standard in this matter. If such is done, in practically every case 
new windows should be added on the left. The accompanying picture 
shows one of the schools that affords excellent lighting. 

Since the most valuable light is that which enters through the 
upper half of the window, the windows should extend very close to 
the ceiling. In 8 schoolrooms the tops of the windows are 4 feet or 



12 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



more from the ceiling, in 134 they vary from 4 feet to 6 inches from 
the ceiling and in 20 they are less than 6 inches from the ceiling. 

Authorities hold that the light from the east is the best, 
because the sun may shine in the schoolroom in the morning 
when its heat is most desirable. The next best direction is the west. 
A southern exposure is not desirable because it admits too much 
sunlight, and too much heat in the warm months, while a northern 
exposure is the poorest of all, because it admits practically no sun- 
light, which is so desirable for sanitary reasons. Of course, when 
the light comes from the east, the teacher's desk should be placed 
at the southern end of the room ; when from the west, at the northern 
end of the room so that the light will fall on the pupil's desk from 
the left. 1 Of the 78 schools having windows on only one or two sides, 
42 have an east and west exposure, and 36 have a north and south 
exposure. 

It is generally accepted that the ratio of the glass area of the win- 
dows to the floor area should be as 1 is to 5. Table 2 shows clearly 
that the school authorities should remodel most of their buildings 
to give the children the proper amount of light. 

Table 2 
Ratio of window glass area to floor area in rural schools 



RATIO 


NO. OF 
SCHOOL- 
ROOMS 


RATIO 


NO. OF 

SCHOOL- 
ROOMS 


I to 3 


5 
3 
12 
16 
30 
17 
24 


I to IO 


10 


x to 4. . 


I tO II : 


*3 


1 to 5 . 




6 


1 to 6 




7 


1 to 7 


1 to 14 


1 


1 to 8 . 




10 


1 to 9. . 




9 




Total 






163 










Window 


Shades 





Window shades are a necessity but they must be rightly placed 
and must be of the right color and material, else when drawn they 
will exclude too much light. Many authorities hold that a window 



1 Dresslar, School Hygiene, pp. 57, 58, 67. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 13 

should have double shades fastened at the middle of the window, 1 
one to be drawn up and the other down. The shades should be 
translucent so that enough light will be admitted. Yellow, tan or 
ecru are recommended. Dark shades of all kinds should be avoided 
because they shut out too much light. 

This matter of shades needs attention in most of the schools. 
Answers regarding the presence and arrangement of shades were 
received from all but 6 rooms. Eighteen schoolrooms have single 
shades fastened at the bottom or double shades at the middle of 
their windows, 12 have no shades at all, and 127 have shades fastened 
at the top. When the shades which are fastened at the top are 
drawn to protect the children nearest the windows, the children on 
the farther side of the room do not receive enough light. 

One hundred nineteen schoolrooms have green shades, and 26 
have shades of a satisfactory color. To rectify these jonditions 
will involve considerable expense for each school, but it will mean a 
great deal for the comfort and welfare of the children. 

Artificial Lighting Facilities 

Twenty-seven schoolrooms are provided with facilities for artificial 
lighting. Three of these rooms have but one oil lamp each and ten 
have but two oil lamps each. There are two good reasons why each 
room should be provided with adequate lighting facilities. During 
the dark days the windows do not provide enough light for the pupils 
to do their work without eyestrain. This is particularly true of a 
large majority of the rural schools because the glass area is not large 
enough for the floor area, as is shown in table 2. To provide ade- 
quate artificial light more than one or two lamps are needed, and 
great care should be taken in placing them so that the pupils get the 
right amount of light and get it from such a direction as to reduce 
the shadows to a minimum. 

The second reason why facilities for artificial light should be pro- 
vided is that the school building may be equipped for evening com- 
munity meetings. 

Heat and Ventilation 

Sources of Artificial Heat 

Nearly every rural school is heated by a stove situated near the 
center of the schoolroom. In 69 of these stoves wood is burnt, in 



1 Challman, " The Rural School Plant," p. 68. 



14 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

43 coal, and in 39 both wood and coal. In these schools the children 
are subjected to a very unequal heat, so that if those farthest away 
are warm enough, those nearest the stove are overheated. 

Such conditions are not conducive to health and mental alertness. 
They may be remedied by the use of a jacketed stove or a furnace. 
There are 6 schoolrooms which are heated by the former and 13 
which are heated by the latter. These schools are to be commended 
very highly in this respect. The 144 schoolrooms heated by com- 
mon stoves should replace them with jacketed stoves or furnaces, 
or at least put metal screens about the stoves to protect those seated 
near them. The use of coal will aid in maintaining an even heat in 
the room. 

A survey x of rural schools, in Saline county, Missouri, made in 
191 5, disclosed the fact that of no schools, 23 were heated by jack- 
eted stoves and 10 by furnaces. A study 2 of conditions and needs 
of rural schools in Wisconsin, made in 1912, showed that of 106 
schools inspected, 69 were heated by jacketed stoves, and 8 by fur- 
naces. " The large number of jacketed stoves (in the Wisconsin 
schools) is due undoubtedly to the $50 a year subvention for three 
years to schools putting in jacketed stoves and fulfilling certain other 
requirements." 

Thermometers 

It is very difficult to maintain an even and correct temperature 
without the aid of a thermometer, yet 126 schools are not provided 
with them. In these schools the judge of the temperature is the 
teacher and if she happens to be thinly clad or is accustomed to a 
high temperature, the children are the victims of an overheated 
room. 

The schools which have thermometers have them placed on an 
outside wall from 4J to 7 feet above the floor. The best place for a 
thermometer is on the teacher's desk where it is not influenced by 
the temperature of -an outside wall and where it measures the tem- 
perature of the lower part of the room in which the children sit. 
Only 10 teachers kept records of temperature readings. One of 
these strove to maintain a temperature of 72 degrees, another 70 
degrees, and another 62 degrees. Every schoolroom should be pro- 
vided with a reliable thermometer. The temperature striven for 
should be from 65 to 68 degrees, and the teachers should keep a 
record of temperature readings. 



1 A Study of Rural Schools of Saline County, Missouri, University of Missouri 
Bulletin, v. 16, no. 22, 1915, p. 11. 

2 Preliminary Report on Conditions and Needs of Rural Schools in Wisconsin, 
912, p. 27. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 1 5 

Ventilation 
The problem of ventilation is a perplexing one which receives 
altogether too little attention in the rural schools. Since the com- 
mon stove contributes practically nothing to ventilation, the 145 
schoolrooms which have them should make use of some special 
ventilating device. In most cases the open window is used. To 
open the windows at the bottom subjects the children near them 
to drafts, unless window boards or muslin frames are used. If the 
frame or board is not used, it is much better to open the windows 
at the top. Yet none of the windows in 32 schools can be low- 
ered from the top. There are 10 other schools which have but one 
window capable of being lowered from the top. One hundred twenty- 
three schools do not have the windows on weights, with the result 
that they can be raised or lowered only at set distances. 



i6 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 




M CD 

B3 



W .5 

a .a 

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< .3 



« C 



B.2 

£ • s 

O P 
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LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 1 7 

The methods of ventilation in the rural schools are shown by 
table 3 . 

Table 3 

Methods of ventilation in rural schools 

Lowering window from top 84 



Unclassified methods 



33 



Foul air duct 16 

Window boards 8 

Muslin frames 5 

Method not given 17 

Total 163 

The upper sash of all schoolroom windows should be made to 
lower from the top ; both the upper and lower sashes of all windows 
should be on window weights ; all jacketed stoves should be provided 
with a duct to draw fresh air from outdoors to be heated and turned 
into the room; each room heated by a jacketed stove should be 
provided with a vent duct opening at the floor of the room and 
extending through the roof; this vent duct should be provided with 
a damper which may be closed when school is not in session; the 
jacketed or screened stove and the vent duct should be located on 
the same side of the room. Before any of these suggestions are 
carried out, however, it is urged that the plans for the changes be 
approved by the State Education Department. Figure 3 illustrates 
the arrangement of the heater and the vent duct. 1 

Buildings which have two or more schoolrooms should be heated 
by a furnace, the heat flue should open at least 8 feet from the floor, 
and the opening to the vent duct should open near the floor on the 
same side of the room on which the heat flue opens and extend up 
through the roof. The plans for the installation of such a system 
should first have the approval of the district superintendent and the 
State Education Department. 

Fire Protection 
Every reasonable precaution should be taken to avoid loss through 
fire. Although the possibility of danger from fire to school children 
in one-room and two-room schools is not great, yet it exists and 
should be guarded against. Insurance should be carried. Where 
common or jacketed stoves are used the floors underneath them 
should be protected with metal sheets. Chimneys should be of safe 
construction, and at least one small fire extinguisher should be in 
every schoolhouse. 

1 N. Y. Education Department Annual Report, 1915, v. 3, pp. 28 and 289. 



16 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

Nearly all the schools have metal sheets or a brick paving under- 
neath the stoves, but not a school possesses a fire extinguisher. 
There are many small and inexpensive extinguishers on the market 
and the possession of one is an excellent precaution. 

Furniture and Equipment 

Pupils' Desks 

The most important articles of furniture in the schoolroom are the 
pupils' seats. These are made in three distinct types, the non- 
adjustable seat which is screwed to the floor, the seat which may be 
adjusted as to height and is screwed to the floor, and the desk-chair 
which may be moved about the room. The second and third types 
are also made so that the desk part may be adjusted backwards and 
forwards and as to slant. The third type has distinct advantages 
because the schoolroom may be cleared for physical training exer- 
cises, or the seats may be arranged at will to suit lighting conditions 
etc. Whenever seats of the first and third types are used, some of 
each number should be provided so that each child, no matter what 
his size, can be seated comfortably. When the movable chairs are 
not used, the more economical arrangement would be to provide 
seats of both type i and type 2, so that when a child can not be 
comfortably seated in one of the fixed seats, he may have an adjust- 
able seat adjusted to his comfort. 

The kinds and sizes of the seats in use in the rural schools are as 
follows : 

NO. 
SCHOOL- 
ROOMS 

Double nonadjustable 91 

Single nonadjustable 50 

Single and double nonadjustable 18 

Single adjustable and single nonadjustable 1 

Single adjustable 3 

163 



The sizes of nonadjustable seats used in rural schools in which 
there are no adjustable seats, and in rooms designed to care for the 
entire eight years of elementary work, are: 

NO. 
SCHOOL- 
ROOMS 

All the same size 9 

Two sizes 17 

Three sizes 38 

Four sizes 28 

Five sizes 9 

Six sizes I 

No answers given 39 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 19 

In rooms designed to care for only four years of elementary work 
the figures are : 

NO. 
SCHOOL- 
ROOMS 

All the same size 1 

Two sizes 8 

Three sizes 6 

Four sizes 1 

No answers given 2 



In six of the schoolrooms seats are used which are more than 30 
years of age, and in these rooms no provision is made for seating 
children according to their sizes. It is strongly recommended that 
each school provide seats which will fit the children who are to use 
them, but this should not be done without consulting the district 
superintendent of schools concerning the kind and sizes of desks to 
be purchased. 

Single seats should be substituted for the double ones. Of 118 
schoolrooms, 109 have seats incorrectly arranged. 

The stationary seats in a room should be so placed in rows that a 
plumb line dropped from the edge of a desk part will fall on the seat 
part behind it from 3 to 4 inches from its front edge, as is shown in 
figure 4. 



FlG. 4 THE PROPER METHOD OF ARRANGING SEATS IN A ROW 

In 67 schoolrooms there are seats so placed that the plumb line 
would not even touch the seat parts behind them. The pupils who 
use these seats are compelled to sit on the edge of the seat as they 
work at the desk part. 



20 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

Teachers' Desks, Tables and Chairs 
Each schoolroom should have a desk with drawers that can be 
locked, in which the teacher can keep her register of attendance, 
records, plan books, notebooks and other material. Of the 163 
schoolrooms, 120 have desks, and the other 43 have tables to serve 
as desks. Forty schoolrooms have both a teacher's desk and a table. 
Two schoolrooms in this county are without chairs! Each of 99 
schoolrooms have one chair, each of 37 have two chairs, and each of 
23 have more than two chairs. A schoolroom should have at least 
three chairs, one for the teacher and the other two for the use of 
visitors. 

Blackboards 

Blackboards should be placed on the front wall of the room and on 
the wall to the right of the children, if there are no windows in it. 
Blackboards should never be placed between windows because of 
the eyestrain to which the children are subjected to read what is 
written on them. Since there are small children attending the 
rural school, the lower edge of the blackboards should be from 24 
to 28 inches from the floor. A majority of the schools have boards 3 
feet from the floor. In one the boards are 4 feet. 

The material of which the blackboards are made is shown in the 
following table: 

Table 4 
Material of which blackboards are made 

NO. 
SCHOOL- 
MATERIAL ROOMS 

Wood. 84 

Composition or fiber 23 

Slate cloth 16 

Slate 12 

Slate and wood 10 

Wood and other material 7 

Slate, cloth and wood 4 

Material not specified 6 

Slate and slate cloth 1 

Total 163 



Slate is an excellent material because it is easy to write on, it does not 
have a glossy surface, and it needs no other attention than washing 
after it has once been installed. The initial cost is greater than that 
of other materials but its upkeep is nothing. A greater objection to 
boards other than slate is that the school authorities neglect to give 
them the needed slate recoating. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 21 

Sixty per cent of 106 rural schools in Wisconsin and 37 per cent of 
the rural schools in Saline county, Missouri, have slate blackboards. 
Only 13 per cent of the Livingston county rural schools have slate 
blackboards. 

Practically no blackboards in the county have chalk rails pro- 
vided with a dust-catching device. It is recommended that deep 
rails covered with a wire screen over the top be used, and that this 
screen be removable so that the rail may be easily cleaned. Such 
a device causes the dust to drop to the bottom of the rail where it 
will not be stirred up by the pupils when they use the erasers, and it 
a r ds in keeping the erasers clean for a longer period of time. 

Eight schoolrooms have no erasers provided for erasing work 
from the blackboards. Five schoolrooms have but two and 9 have 
but three. The others have more. Every schoolroom should be 
supplied with at least six all felt erasers that are in good condition. 
Those with wooden backs are noisy and wear out quickly. 

Framed Pictures 

In very many cases the child has no opportunity to see good 
pictures and to learn to appreciate them. It is the duty of the school 
to help the child in this respect. Every schoolroom should have on 
its walls some large reproductions of masterpieces plainly but well 
framed. Ninety-nine schoolrooms have no framed pictures at all. 
The State will pay half the cost of approved pictures. 

Unframed pictures taken from magazines and illustrated editions 
of newspapers are valuable often for instructional purposes, but they 
should be posted on a bulletin board and be changed frequently 
They should never be considered as suitable schoolroom decoration. 

Clocks 
Only 38 schoolrooms are provided with clocks. It is a valuable 
lesson for a child to learn how to plan his work according to the time 
he has in which to do it. Every schoolroom should have a good 
clock so placed that both the children and the teacher can easily 
see it. 

Libraries 

There are only 5 schoolrooms which are without a bookcase. One 
hundred fourteen have closed cases, 19 have open cases, 12 have both, 
and 16 do not specify which kind they have. The cases in 42 rooms 
are not large enough to hold the books. 

It is regretted that it has been impossible to study adequately the 
nature of the books in these libraries to learn how many are suited to 



22 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



the needs of the pupils who attend the schools. There is evidence 
to show that there are books which were selected on the basis of a 
past generation. The size of these libraries is shown in table 5. 

Table 5 
Size of the rural school libraries 



NO. OF BOOKS 



NO. OF 
SCHOOLS 



None 

1 to 24 

25 to 49 

50 to 74 

75 to 99 

100 to 124 

125 to 149 

150 to 174 

175 to 199 

200 to 224 

225 to 249 

250 to 274 

275 to 299 

300 to 324 

395 

400 

5H 

Total . 



4 
o 

7 
11 
18 
32 
22 

17 
16 

7 
5 
2 

4 
1 
1 
1 
1 



149 



In each of eight schools which have more than one schoolroom) 
all the books are kept in a special room for library purposes. 

From the standpoint of number of books, the libraries in the rural 
schools are in general satisfactory. There is however serious ques- 
tion as to the character of these collections. It is not to the credit of 
four schools to have no library books. Since the State will pay one- 
half the cost of approved books purchased for school libraries, no 
district can excuse itself on the grounds of expense. 

Eleven schools have one or more periodicals for the use of the pupils, 
10 of which have Current Events and one the Youth's Companion. 
It is very desirable that children be taught current events, and 
periodicals suited to that end should be in every school. Pupils 
should be as familiar, if not more so, with history in the making as 
with the history of the past. 

Dictionaries 
All but five schools have dictionaries, though some of these are so 
old that their use is greatly impaired. Table 6 shows how old some 
of these dictionaries are. 



livingston county survey 23 

Table 6 
Number of dictionaries published earlier than 1900 

NO. DATE 

I 1847 

I 1851 

I 1855 

I 1856 

2 1863 

3 1864 

I I867 

1 1873 

2 I880 

2 1884 

15 Between 1885 and 1900 

A pupil desiring to get the meaning of such words as submersible, 
feedstuff, monoplane, radium, catch-drop, cover crop, blastroasting etc., 
will find these old books useless. They should be replaced immedi- 
ately by new, up-to-date dictionaries which are approved by the 
State Education Department. Half of the cost of such a dictionary 
will be paid by the Department. 

Supplementary Readers 
To teach reading well, particularly in the lower grades, it is essential 
that there be several sets of supplementary readers to be read along 
with the reader in the possession of the pupil. Ninety-six school- 
rooms have no supplementary readers whatever. It is recom- 
mended that each school add sets from year to year until the first 
three grades have at least from two to four sets each, and each of the 
other grades at least from one to two sets each. 

Musical Equipment 

That singing has a place in every schoolroom is a fact that needs 
no defense. Yet 84 schoolrooms have no song books. Thirty school- 
rooms are provided with an organ, and 6 with a piano. One of these 
is provided with a victrola also. 

Every schoolroom should be provided with a supply of song books 
sufficient for the teacher and pupils. Each school should possess 
either a good organ or a piano to be used not only for school purposes 
but also for community gatherings. A phonograph, together with 
several records of the best instrumental and vocal selections, is 
coming to be a necessary aid to teach children to appreciate really 
good music. Too often rural boys and girls who love music know 
nothing better than cheap ragtime. They are entitled to know the 
better class of music just as much as the city boy and girl, and the 
phonograph is the best method of bringing it to them. 



24 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

Maps and Globes 
Each school should possess an encased up-to-date map of each of 
the following as a minimum: Livingston county, New York State, 
the United States, North America, South America, Europe, Asia 
and Africa. One hundred eight schools have less than this number, 
and a very large majority have these maps unencased. A map that 
is encased is more desirable because it is more durable and is easier 
to handle. All the schools have globes. 

Waste Baskets, Rulers and Pointers 
Every well-kept schoolroom should have a waste basket, yet there 
are 50 schoolrooms which have none. A papiermache basket is 
recommended because it will hold not only the waste paper but also 
pencil sharpenings and other small articles thrown into it. 

Eighty-eight schoolrooms are not provided with rulers. Yard- 
sticks are obtainable free of charge at most hardware stores and a 
supply of at least six would be of service in every schoolroom. 

At times every teacher has on the blackboard work which needs 
explanation. It aids the pupils very much to have the steps in the 
wo~k pointed out to them. One hundred twenty-eight schoolrooms 
are unprovided with pointers. These are inexpensive and each 
school should have one. 

School Bells and Flags 

Nine schools are not provided with a bell or gong for use in calling 
the children from their play. It would improve the orderliness of the 
school day if one or the other were provided. 

All schools in the county have flag staffs placed either on the 
school building or on the school grounds, and all are provided with 
flags. 

Janitor Work and Supplies 
Importance of Janitorial Work 

The duties of a janitor are most important. He must keep the 
building clean, sanitary and well ventilated, and during the cold 
weather comfortably warm. He must procure through the trustee 
the supplies needed for his work; keep the paths and walks free 
from snow in the winter, and the school yard mowed in the spring, 
summer and autumn; and provide the children with plenty of pure 
and fresh water if the source of water supply is off the school grounds. 
Too much emphasis can not be placed on his work, for as it is done 
well so are health, comfort and correct habits of living promoted 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 25 

among the children. It is not too much to say that the schoolhouse 
and grounds should have as good attention as the best home and 
grounds in the district. 

Those Who Serve as Janitors 

An adult other than the teacher serves as janitor in each of 25 
schools; in 64 the teacher serves; in 31 a pupil serves; in 18 the 
teacher and a pupil serve; and in 2 the teacher and the trustee serve. 
No report as to who does the janitor work was received from the 
remaining 9 schools. In most cases where the teacher serves, the 
district considers her the janitor ex officio and her salary for teaching 
covers the service she renders as janitor. In some cases a special 
agreement is made with her to do the janitor work in return for which 
she receives special compensation. 

It is unfair to require a teacher to act as janitor. The problems 
of teaching in a rural school are heavy and perplexing enough without 
having the duties of janitor thrust upon her. In very many cases 
she is too tired after a day of teaching to perform such work, and 
hence it is slighted. It is a somewhat better plan to have a pupil do 
the work under the supervision of the teacher. The duties of a 
janitor really demand the services of a mature person who has 
the habits of cleanliness and good order. 

Oiled Floors 
The floors of a rural schoolroom should be treated with oil for the 
following reasons: it reduces the amount of dust and bacteria in the 
air both when the room is swept and when it is in use; it makes it 
easier to sweep the floors; it causes less wear upon the sweeping 
utensils. A light floor oil should be thinly applied and thoroughly 
rubbed into the wood at least twice a year. After oiling it is advis- 
able to rub the floor with a weighted, dry mop just before the floor is 
used. The floors of 68 rooms have never been treated with oil. 
Softwood floors are very difficult to oil properly, particularly if 
they are much worn. It is recommended that such floors be re- 
placed with hardwood floors. 

Sweeping and Dusting 

The rooms are swept in the morning before school in 22 cases, and 

at noon in 16 cases. This practice should be stopped at once because 

sweeping at such times stirs up dust even under the most favorable 

circumstances and contaminates the air which the children are to 



26 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

breathe. The furniture must be dusted, but it is almost useless to 
dust immediately after sweeping. The only time sweeping should 
be permitted is in the afternoon after school is out and the dusting 
should not be done until the room has been flushed with fresh air. 
It is to the credit of the schools of the county that not a feather duster 
is used. All the schools have dust cloths. These should be sprinkled 
with a very small amount of furniture oil so that they will hold the 
dust more effectively. 

' Eighty-eight rooms are swept without the use of any means to 
prevent the stirring up of dust. Fifty-two floors are sprinkled 
with water before sweeping; 12 are sometimes sprinkled and some- 
times not; 6 have a specially prepared dust-gathering material 
scattered over them. Five schools give no description of how the 
floors are swept. To sprinkle a floor with water is almost useless 
for thereby the dust and dirt are reduced to a pasty form which later 
becomes dust again when it is walked upon. Damp sawdust makes 
a good dust-gathering material, but a specially prepared dust- 
gathering material with disinfectant properties is better. This 
preparation is not expensive. 

There are 61 schoolrooms which are swept twice a week, 1 three 
times a week, 13 weekly and 3 at irregular periods. The other 86 
schoolrooms are swept daily. Only 12 schools are provided with 
door mats and 21 with foot scrapers. A survey 1 of rural schools 
in Salina county, Missouri, reports that 103 of the no rural schools 
are swept daily. Of 12 1 Wisconsin rural schools, 106 are swept daily. 2 

When it is recalled that the children have to walk over country 
roads in all kinds of weather, it does not require much imagina- 
tion to picture correctly the state of the schoolroom floor even 
with daily sweepings. It is difficult to imagine a good housewife 
sweeping her living room not oftener than once a week. One would 
never expect to find her without a mop or a mop pail. Mopping 
in most of the schools is an annual event. The janitor work in 
schools should be done on sound housekeeping principles. Only 22 
schools have walks from the road to the schoolhouse. 

Another prolific source of dust is the use of the blackboard. It and 
the chalk rail should be washed at least twice a week, and the erasers 
should be cleaned each night after school. There are 2 schoolrooms 
whose boards are washed only at the beginning of the school year, 



1 " A Study of Rural Schools of Salina County, Missouri," University of Mis- 
souri Bui., v. 16, no. 22, 1915, p. 12. 

2 " Preliminary Report on Conditions and Needs of Rural Schools in Wisconsin, 
1912," p. 30. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 2.J 

38 whose boards are washed once a month and 63 whose boards are 
washed once a week. The boards in the remaining 60 rooms are 
washed oftener. 

Water Supply 
The Source of Supply 
Only 13 schools have a source of supply of good drinking water on 
the school premises. All others have to depend on private sources. 
The distances of these sources from the school buildings are indicated 
in the following table: 

Table 7 
Distances of water supply from the schoolhouses 

NO. OF 
DISTANCE SCHOOLS 

Less than 40 rods 74 

40 to 59 rods 34 

60 to 79 rods 8 

80 to 99 rods 15 

100 to 149 rods 2 

One-half mile 3 



Although it is not practical or perhaps possible to have wells on 
all school premises, yet no school should have to depend on a source 
farther than 40 rods from the school. A distance of one-half of a 
mile from the source is intolerable. 

Table 8 
Distance of wells on or near school premises from school outdoor toilets 

NO. OF 
DISTANCE WELLS 

1 to 2 rods 3 

2 to 3 rods 1 

3 to 4 rods 4 

4 to 5 rods 4 

More than 5 rods 1 



Unless most extraordinary conditions exist, those four toilets which 
are less than 3 rods from the wells are a source of pollution to the well 
water. It is regretted that no study has been made of the distances 
of toilets, barnyards, and other sources of pollution from private wells 
used as sources of supply for school water. Each trustee will do 
well to have the board of health take samples of the water from his 
school's source of supply for examination by the state bacteriologist. 

Drinking Facilities 
Drinking water should never be kept in an open pail because, first, 
the water is exposed to the dust particles of the room and second, 



28 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

whether a common drinking cup or the individual cup is used, the 
water becomes polluted by dipping either in the pail. Drinking 
water is kept in open pails in 107 schools. Covered jars with faucets 
ought by all means to be provided. 

It is not to the credit of 10 schools in which the water receptacles 
are cleaned once a year, of the 3 in which they are cleaned three times 
a year, or of the 13 in which they are cleaned monthly. The open 
pail should be abolished and the covered jar that takes its place 
should be cleaned at least weekly, better daily. 

The common drinking cup is in use in 32 schools. This spreader 
of disease should be abolished at once and forever. Churches have 
abolished the common communion cup but these schools keep the 
common drinking cup. All other schools which do not have running 
water have individual drinking cups which are kept for the most 
part in the pupils' desks. In some schools these cups are kept on 
shelves or in cupboards. The objection to this is that the cups may 
become mixed. 

Lavatory Facilities 

Cleanliness demands that a child and the teacher wash the hands 
at least twice a day during the time school is in session. Yet 94 
schools provide no towels for drying the hands. In many cases the 
distance the water has to be carried to the school discourages hand 
washing. Of these schools which provide towels, all but 7 have 
the common towel which has been legislated out of hotels and other 
public buildings, and which is contrary to all rules of sanitary living. 
These towels are changed in 21 schools once every two weeks; in 
42, once a week. In almost every school there are children from 
poorly kept and unclean homes who come to school not so clean as 
they should be. As is true of most children, when they wash their 
hands, they dampen them and then rub the dirt on the towel, which 
the other children use after them. The common towel should 
g3 the way of the common drinking cup and in its place should be 
put the paper towel which is both inexpensive and sanitary. 

Toilets 

Kinds and Location 
All but 4 of the 149 schools 1 have outdoor toilets consisting for the 
most part of two separate buildings, the distance between which 
varies from a few feet to the width of the school grounds. All are 
wooden structures. Seventeen schools have the boys' and girls' 
toilets under the same roof with a fence separating the entrances. 



1 Since this report was prepared sanitary toilets have been installed in many 
schools. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 20, 

One school has both toilets under the same roof and situated in a 
secluded spot with but a few feet of fence separating the entrances 
and the same path from the schoolhouse is used by both sexes. In a 
very few cases the toilets are attached to the school building. 

Fifty-six schools have toilets with deep excavations, 22 with 
shallow excavations and 67 without excavations at all. 

Their Condition 

The toilets of 129 schools were studied in particular under the 
direction of the district superintendents. All these toilets are 
unpainted on the interior save 9 boys' and 10 girls' toilets. Forty- 
five boys' toilets were not weather-tight and 25 had leaky roofs. 
One had no roof at all. Twenty-one girls' toilets were not weather- 
tight and 20 had leaky roofs. Obscene writings or markings were 
found on the walls of 51 boys' toilets and of 29 girls' toilets. The 
doors of 29 boys' toilets were off the hinges as were the doors of 5 
girls' toilets. One boys' toilet and 2 girls' toilet were without doors. 
Thirteen of the toilets whose doors were off the hinges were unpro- 
tected by screens or fences. One hundred twenty-six toilet build- 
ings have doors that will not latch. The floor of one boys' toilet 
is 30 inches from the ground but there are no steps leading to it. 
One may imagine the small boys in that school trying to enter their 
toilet! Only 9 boys' toilets have urinals. Forty-seven of the 
boys' toilets have unclean seats and the seats in 26 are in bad con- 
dition. The seats in the girls' toilets were all clean save in one case, 
and all are in good condition save 3. A particularly deplorable 
condition was the lack of paper of any kind in 100 boys' toilets and 
in 73 girls' toilets. Practically no use is made of disinfectants or 
ashes to cover the droppings in any of the outdoor toilets. There 
are no screens or fences hiding the entrance to 41 boys' toilets and 
to 35 girls' toilets. 

Such conditions are a discredit to the rural communities in which 
they exist. They may be condemned on moral grounds, and on 
the grounds of uncleanliness, improper sanitation and discomfort. 
The best way to rectify these conditions is to establish chemical 
toilets. They should be located either in the school building or 
directly adjoining them, because it is asking too much of a child to 
go out into a storm or through mud, slush or snow to reach the toilet, 
and because toilets connecting with the schoolroom are more easily 
supervised by the teacher. The toilet rooms should have windows 
to admit sunlight, an ample supply at all times of toilet paper within 



30 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

easy reach of the seats, a wash basin, and paper towels. It should 
be the business of the teacher to teach the children to wash their 
hands after using the toilet. Every boys' toilet should be provided 
with a urinal of noncorrosive and nonabsorbent material. The 
walls of the toilet room should be painted white or a light color 
with a glossy finish. The seats and the floors should be scrubbed 
frequently. And lastly, the teacher should inspect the toilets daily 
and have objectionable matter removed immediately. Morals, 
cleanliness and decency demand these steps. 1 

School Grounds 

Location and Drainage 

Sanitation demands that school grounds be well drained. For 
that reason a clay soil should be avoided, and the location should be 
on a gentle slope. Seventy-three rural school grounds are level and 
74 are sloping. No data are available for 2. Thirteen school 
grounds are reported as being poorly drained, 73 as being fairly 
well drained, and 63 as being well drained. 

The following table shows the nature of the soil of the school 
grounds : 

Table q 
Nature of the soil 

NO. OF 
SCHOOL 
SOIL GROUNDS 

Loam 5° 

Gravel 5° 

Medium clay 22 

Sand I2 

Heavy clay IO 

Gravel and sand 3 

Gravel and loam 3 

Sandy loam l 

Loam and heavy clay l 

Sand and medium clay 1 

No answer *6 



149 

Size 



School authorities the Nation over regard anything less than 2 
acres as too small a plot for a rural school. 2 The demands for 

1 N. Y. Education Dep't Annual Report, 19 15, v. 3, p. 44. 

2 Challman, " Rural School Plant," p. 33; " School Buildings, School Grounds 
and Their Improvement in Kansas," 191 1, p. 6. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 31 

physical training and recreational work, for work in nature study 
and for ornamentation are such that at least 2 acres are needed. 

Table io 
Areas of the school grounds 

NO. OF 
SCHOOL 
AREA IN ACRES GROUNDS 

Less than | 55 

1 to i 51 

J to f 18 

f to 1 9 

1 to i\ 3 

i\ to if 1 

No area given 12 



149 



When it is taken into consideration that the acres given in the 
above table include the sites of the buildings, it is apparent that 
but little room is left for playgrounds and ornamentation purposes. 
Also in very many cases, the trees are so placed that the room left 
for play purposes is so broken that it is not suitable for very many 
games children like to play. As land in rural districts is not expen- 
sive it would be no hardship for any district to add 2 acres to its 
school premises. The majority of the rural school grounds in Lane 
county, Oregon, are 1 acre in size. The standard size of the play- 
grounds in Kansas, Washington and New Jersey is i acre, and in 
North Dakota and Texas it is 2 acres. 

Landscape Effect 

In every rural school district will be found homes with well-kept 
lawns, flower beds, shrubbery and trees. It is not too much to expect 
that these districts make their school premises as attractive and 
inviting as these homes. It needs no argument to prove that a 
neat, attractive and inviting environment will have a much more 
wholesome effect on the pupil than will one that is bare, unattractive, 
uninviting and cheerless. 

In Livingston county are 61 rural school grounds that are reported 
as having a rough surface, 81 as having a smooth surface, and for 
5 no report is made. Not a rural school possesses a lawn mower. 
When the grass or weeds get too long, a scythe is used. Ten school 
grounds have flower beds, 21 have shrubbery, and 9 have both flower 
beds and shrubbery. One hundred nine have neither. Only one 
school ground has a garden patch. Table 11 shows how many 
schools have trees 20 or more feet in height. 



2,2 the university of the state of new york 

Table h 
Number of school grounds having trees twenty or more feet in height 

SCHOOL 
NO. OF TREES GROUNDS 

None 17 

One : 14 

Two 23 

3 to 5 28 

6 to 10 29 

11 to 15 18 

More than 15 18 

No report 2 

149 

Walks and Hitch Posts 

Only 22 school grounds have walks leading from the road to the 

schoolhouse. Four of these are gravel, 3 are cinder, and 3 are 

cement. Nineteen of the 145 school grounds on which there are 

outdoor toilets have walks leading to them. Of these, 8 are gravel, 

7 are cinder, 3 are board, and 1 is cement. In all other cases there 
are unimproved paths which become muddy in wet weather. Abou t 
60 per cent of the rural schools in Lane county, Oregon, have walks, 
board or cement. 

Six school grounds are provided with hitch posts. Of these one 
has 20, one has 2 , and four have 1 . Four school grounds are provided 
with hitch rails. 

Playground Apparatus 
Seventeen schools provide playground apparatus of some sort. 
Of these, 10 have homemade pieces, such as swings, teeters and 
jumping stakes, and 7 have ready-made pieces. The other 132 
schools provide no apparatus for play or recreation. In Lane county, 
Oregon, " Many schools are adding play apparatus. The giant 
stride, teeter boards, and swings are in great numbers, but such 
pieces as the turning-bar and merry-go-round are not infrequent." 

A Suggestion ■ 
It has been recommended that each rural school should have at 
the very least 2 acres of grounds. These should be rectangular in 
form with the length approximately twice the width. The school- 
house should be located near the front and with well-constructed 
walks leading to the road, to what outbuildings there may be, and 
to the playground. Before and on either side of the schoolhouse 
should be a well-kept lawn ornamented with well-planned and well- 
placed flower beds, shrubbery and trees. On one side should be a 



LfVItiGSfOtt COtJJJTY StrkVfiY 33 

gravel drive with 10 or more hitch posts or a hitch rail. No trees 
should be placed within 50 feet of the school building. 1 At the rear 
should be a playground large enough for baseball, tennis and other 
outdoor sports; and accommodations for playground equipment 
such as teeters, swings, trapezes, horizontal bars, sand pits, etc. 

With such provisions, the rural child would have the suggestive 
influence of the neat, the attractive and the beautiful. He would 
have ample facilities for directed play which is so necessary for 
his mental, moral and physical growth. Altogether too often the 
country boy is stooped-shouldered and is slow, clumsy and ungrace- 
ful in action. He needs games and supervised exercise to give him 
erectness of posture, suppleness and grace of action, and quickness 
of thought. The facilities provided, together with the guidance of 
a trained teacher, would give him the opportunities for such games 
and supervised exercise. The community would have a community 
center equipped and suited for picnics and recreation, and a real 
testimony to its interest in the welfare of its children, and to its 
community spirit. 

Summary and Conclusions 

1 Fifty-three of the 149 rural schoolhouses were built before the 
Civil War. Nineteen of the 53 were built before the Mexican War 
and 5 of them were built during the lifetime of Thomas Jefferson. 
One-half of the school buildings were built before 1873. 

2 All but 6 of the rural schoolhouses are frame buildings. Of 
these nearly one-third have not been painted since 19 10, and more 
than one-third have one or more broken window panes. 

3 About one-fourth of the schoolrooms are less than 10 feet in 
height. 

4 Twelve schools have windows on all four sides of the school- 
rooms, 66 have windows on each of three sides of the schoolrooms, 
and 81 have windows on each of two sides. Only 4 have unilateral 
lighting. 

5 More than three-fourths of the schoolrooms have a ratio of glass 
area to floor area of less than 1 to 5 and one-third have a ratio of 1 
to 10 or less. Only 20 rooms meet the standard ratio of 1 to 5. 

6 More than three-fourths of the schools make no provision for 
artificial lighting of their schoolrooms. 

7 Nine-tenths of the schoolrooms are heated by the common 
unjacketed or unscreened wood or coal stove, placed in or near the 
center of the room. 



1 Challman, " The Rural School Plant," p. 190. 

2 



34 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

8 About five-sixths of the schoolrooms have no thermometers. 

9 The schools in almost all cases depend on the open window for 
ventilation. In one-fifth of the schoolrooms the upper window 
sash of none of the windows can be lowered. The windows in three- 
fourths of the schools have no window weights. 

io (a) Only 4 of the 163 schoolrooms have any adjustable seats; 
(b) almost every schoolroom has stationary seats of different sizes 
in the same row; (c) two-fifths of the schoolrooms have the pupils' 
seats at too great a distance from their desks. 

1 1 Two schoolrooms have no chair for the use of the teacher and 
89 schoolrooms have only one chair. 

12 (a) More than one-half of the schoolrooms have only wooden 
blackboards ; (6) in more than one-half of the schoolrooms the lower 
edge of the blackboards is 3 feet from the floor; (c) 8 schoolrooms 
have no erasers, 5 have two, and 9 have three; (d) none of the schools 
has dust-catching devices on their chalk rails. 

13 Four schools have no library books. In all other cases the 
schools are provided with good-sized libraries. No information 
was secured as to the character of the books. 

14 All but 5 of the schools have unabridged dictionaries. About 
one-fifth of these dictionaries were printed before 1900, and about 
one-tenth of them were printed before 1885. Four were printed 
before the Civil War began. 

15 More than one-half of the schools possess no supplementary 
readers. 

16 About one-half of the schools have no song books. 

17 Nearly two-thirds of the schoolrooms do not possess maps of 
each of Livingston county, New York State, the United States, and 
the continents. 

18 The teachers serve as janitors in more than one-half of the 
schools. 

19 In about one-half of the schoolrooms the floors have never 
been treated with oil. 

20 (a) About one-half of the schoolrooms are swept daily, the other 
half being swept once or twice a week; (6) one-fourth of the school- 
rooms are swept by the teacher in the morning before school- or 
else at noon; (c) about one-half of the floors are swept without the 
use of any dust-holding material. 

2 1 (a) The source of water supply for about one-half of the schools 
is more than 40 rods from the school building. For 3 schools the 
source is one-half of a mile from the school building; (6) at 12 schools 
the well is 5 rods or less from a privy; (c) in two-thirds of the schools 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 35 

the open water pail is used as the drinking water container; (d) the 
common drinking cup is still in use in about one-fifth of the schools. 

22 About two-thirds of the schools do not provide towels. Those 
provided by the one-third are the ccmmon towel and in two-fifths 
of the schools having them, they are changed not oftener than once 
a week. 

23 (a) All but 4 of the schools have outdoor toilets; (b) a special 
study of the outdoor toilets of 129 schools reveals in general very 
unsanitary, unhygienic, unwholesome and discomfort-producing 
conditions which are very discreditable, to say the least. 

24 (a) Two-thirds of the schools have grounds that are less than 
one-half of an acre in area; (b) 61 school grounds are reported as 
having a rough surface; (c) no school possesses a lawn mower; (d) 
109 of the 149 school grounds have neither shrubbery nor flower 
beds; (e) 17 school grounds have no trees; (/) 127 school grounds 
have no artificial walks on them. 

25 Practically no playground apparatus of any sort is provided 
by the schools. 

The conclusion drawn from this study of the rural school plant 
is that the present unit for the administration of the rural school 
has proved itself to be a failure. A larger unit of administration 
such as the town or the county under the control of a responsible 
board of education would undoubtedly aid very materially in bring- 
ing about better conditions. 

To consolidate rural schools where such is practicable would bring 
about good sanitary buildings, properly heated and lighted, and 
furnished ' with modern equipment. This statement is based on 
the experience of those states in which there has been much consolida- 
tion of rural schools. 

A survey of rural schools in North Dakota has this to say of 
consolidation : 

Consolidation is the uniting of one-room rural schools to form a school having 
at least two or more teachers and serving at least eighteen contiguous sections. 
This last year there were 447 of these schools in the state, with an enrolment of 
27,252 farm children, 2850 of whom did high school work. Seven years before, 
there were 94 of these schools with 5025 farm children enrolled, of which number 
410 did high school work. These schools have trebled the eighth grade comple- 
tions and increased the high school enrolment fourfold. They have given us in 
the seven years an increase of over 2400 farm children doing high school work 
against an increase of some 150 if these schools had not existed. They have 
increased the number of well-trained teachers by at least 1300. They have given 
a twenty-five per cent increase in attendance. They have furnished vastly better 
civic-social opportunities. They have given a more efficient and economical 
organization, saving as they have for these districts through the excess number 
of classes in the 1300 one-room rural schools thatthey have eliminated, more 
than $90,000 annually. Briefly, they have given increased efficiency along all 
principal lines. 



$6 THE UNIVERSITY OE THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

AGE, GRADE AND PROGRESS OF CHILDREN IN THE 

EIGHT ELEMENTARY GRADES 

Preliminary Definitions 

i The age of a child. In this study the age of a child is defined as 
that of his nearest birthday. For example, a child 5 years 6 months 
or more but less than 6 years 6 months in age, is classified as being 6 
years of age. This definition does not comply with the state com- 
pulsory education law, which defines the age of a child as that of 
his last birthday; that is, a child does not become 6 until his sixth 
birthday and he remains 6 until his seventh birthday. 

2 Groups E and F. Group F includes (a) those children born in 
a non-English-speaking country, (6) those children whose parents 
were born in a non-English-speaking country, (c) those children 
who come from homes in which a foreign language is spoken the 
larger part of the time. Group E includes all children other than 
those in group F. 

3 Union school. This term is very confusing to those 
unacquainted with its use in New York State. It does not neces- 
sarily mean a school resulting from the union of two school districts. 
According to law one common school district may vote to become a 
union free school district ; also two or more common school districts 
may vote to be consolidated to form such a district. A union free 
school district is under the control of a board of education and 
has the power to establish an academic department. In almost 
every case the formation of a union free school district is for 
the establishment of such a department. Hence the term union 
school has come to mean very generally a school giving academic 
work in addition to that of the elementary grades. In this study, 
therefore, the name union school is applied to those schools main- 
taining academic departments. The training school of the state 
normal school which now cares for all the children in the Geneseo 
union free school district is classified as a union school. These 
union schools include practically all village children and in addition 
a few rural children, for almost all union school districts extend 
beyond the village limits. In the case of the Greigsville High School 
all the children are rural. The course of study, however, and the 
administration of this school are precisely the same as those of any 
union school located in a village. In the village of Lima the school 
is a common school of the same type as a two-department rural school. 
Hence union schools will be treated as village schools and common 
district schools as rural schools. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



37 



4 Underage, normal age, overage. Children who are 6 or 7 years 
of age in the first grade, 7 or 8 in the second, 8 or 9 in the third are 
said to be of normal age. An underage child is one who is younger 
than the normal age for his grade, and an overage child is one who 
is older than the normal age for his grade. 

5 Acceleration, retardation. A child who is promoted faster than 
a grade a year is said to be accelerated. One who is not promoted 
every year is said to be retarded. Sometimes the terms rapid progress 
and slow progress are used in place of acceleration and retardation. 

6 Elimination. When a child leaves school before completing 
his course of study, he is said to have been eliminated. 



The Ages and Number of Children 

During the months of January and February 191 7, under the 
direction of the district superintendents, the teachers of grade 
children in the county made accurate copies of the dates of birth 
and the grades of the children from the registers of attendance. 
From these copies the ages of the children were computed according 
to table 12. 

Table 12 
Table for computing the age of a child, September 15, 191 7 



DATE OF BIRTH 



AGE 



3/15/1912 to 3/14/1913 
3/15/1911 to 3/14/1912 
3/i5/i9ioto 3/14/1911 

3/15/1909 to 3/14/1910 
3/15/1908 to 3/14/1909 
3/15/1907 to 3/14/1908 
3/i5/i9o6to 3/14/1907 
3/15/1905 to 3/14/1906 
3/15/1904 to 3/14/1905 
3/15/1903 to 3/14/1904 
3/15/1902 to 3/14/1903 
3/15/1901 to 3/14/1902 
3/15/1900 to 3/14/1901 
3/15/1899 to 3/14/1900 
3/15/1898 to 3/14/1899 
3/15/1897 to 3/14/1898 
3/15/1896 to 3/14/1897 



4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 

17 
18 

19 
20 



This table should be read as follows: children who were born on 
the fifteenth day of March 1912 or on any day up to and including 
the fourteenth day of March 19 13, are 4 years of age, September 
15, 1 9 I 7- 



38 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

It was found that there were 5617 children in the first eight grades 
in the public and the parochial schools of the county. Of these, 
961 belong to group F. There are 2266 children in the rural schools, 
2457 in the union schools, and 894 in the parochial schools. The 
961 in group F are distributed as follows: 109 in rural schools, 439 in 
union schools, and 413 in parochial schools. 

Age-grade Distribution 

The relationship of the age of the child and the grade in which he 
is located is a very important one. The compulsory school law 
permits a child to drop out of school when he is 14 years of age if 
he has completed the eight grades, and at 15 years of age if he has 
completed- the first six grades. Under all other conditions he can 
not leave school until he is 16 years of age. It is highly desirable 
both for the State and the individual that every normal child have 
at least the whole eight years of elementary school work. 

In very many cases the financial condition of the family or the 
shortage of labor in the rural districts makes it imperative that the 
child begin to work at the earliest possible age. That a child may 
be able to leave school as soon as he is 14 (by which time he must 
have completed the eight years of elementary school work) he must 
enter school at 6 years of age, or else he must skip a grade. The 
latter alternative is a rare one, largely because there are no half- 
year promotions in the county. If the child is started in school 
at the age of 7, he will not finish his elementary work until his fifteenth 
birthday. But if he fails to pass each year, or if he starts at an age 
older than 7 , the door is open for him to leave school before he finishes 
his eighth grade. For these reasons parents are urged to send their 
children to school at 6 or 7 years of age if this attendance is con- 
sistent with the physical welfare of the child. 

From the age-grade distribution of school children can be foretold 
quite accurately the probable number of children who will complete 
the elementary school and the probable number who will be 
eliminated. The distribution of the 5617 children in the first eight 
grades in all the schools of the county is shown in table 13. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



39 



Table 13 
Distribution of all the children by age and grade 



GRADE 


CD 
>> 


OS 

>> 

10 


CO 
CD 
>. 
vO 


ca 


u 

a) 

CD 
>» 
00 


I* 

CD 

>. 

0\ 


CO 

u 

as 

I 




to 

2 


0) 

<u 


to 
u 

i 


CO 

1-1 

OS 
CD 


CO 

& 

10 


to 

IH 

03 


CO 

u 

01 
CD 


CO 

2 
>. 

00 


CO 

D3 




TOTAL 


First 


20 


1 52 
2 


350 

57 

9 


316 

215 

60 

8 

1 

1 


154 

241 
167 

67 

5 

1 


74 

138 

216 

177 
40 

3 


15 
70 

137 
175 

162 

57 

6 


5 

29 

83 

123 

199 

121 

5i 
9 


8 

8 

36 

62 

120 

145 

124 

30 


4 
17 
47 
75 
107 
163 
125 


2 

I 

12 

22 

46 

65 
116 
152 


3 

2 
4 
13 
28 
45 
76 
115 


I 








110 










767 


Third 


I 

I 

4 
11 
12 
53 








742 


Fourth.. . 












Fifth 














680 










I 

7 
24 


1 
11 


I 


557 










556 


Eighth . . . 


































Total 


20 


154 


416 


601 


635 


648 


622 


620 


533 


538 


416] 286 


83 


33 


12 


I 


56i7 



Summary of Table 13: 

Underage two or more years 

Underage one year 

Normal age 

Overage one year 

Overage two years 

Overage three years 

Overage four years or more 

Total 

Underage 

Normal age 

Overage 

Total 



65 

5H 

3048 

1010 

558 

254 
168 



1% 

9% 
54% 
18% 
10% 

5% 

3% 



5617 



579 
3048 
.1990 



100% 

10% 
54% 
36% 



5617 



100% 



This table shows that 36 out of every 100 children in Livingston 
county will find it possible to leave school before they have com- 
pleted their elementary education. This is not as it should be. 
For the purpose of analyzing this distribution, data for the children 
in group F were segregated from those of the other children. The 
results follow. 

Table 14 
Distribution of all the children in group F by age and grade 



GRADE 


u 

OS 
CD 
>> 


nj 
>> 
10 


CC) 
CD 
>> 
vO 


cS 
CD 


cS 
CD 
>> 
00 


01 

CD 
>. 
Ov 


03 
g 
O 


u 
en 
CD 


CO 

u 
cS 

>. 


a 

CD 

>> 

ro 


u 

OS 
CD 


CO 

u 

CO 

& 

10 


u 

03 
ID 
>• 

NO 


CO 

a 

CD 

>. 
1- 


to 
u 

a) 

CD 
>. 

00 


TOTAL 


First 


10 


48 


86 
3 


101 

19 

3 


52 

50 

10 

7 


33 
35 
27 
13 

1 


9 

28 

29 

25 

4 


2 
22 
26 
20 
21 

3 

I 


3 
6 
20 
22 
16 
10 
2 


2 

6 

17 
16 
16 

4 
3 


I 
I 

6 
9 

8 
4 
9 

12 










345 
168 




2 

3 

8 

15 

9 

13 

8 








Third. . 












130 


Fourth. . . 








I 
I 

5 

2 
6 






122 


Fifth 














82 


















47 


















2 
3 


2 


33 


Eighth . . . 
















34 






















Total 


10 


48 


89 


123 


119 


109 


95 


95 


79 


64 


50 


50 


15 


5 


2 


961 



40 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Summary of Table 14: 

Underage two years 

Underage one year 

Normal age , 

Overage one year 

Overage two years 

Overage three years 

Overage four years 

Overage five years 

Overage six or more years 

Total 

Underage 

Normal age 

Overage 

Total 



10 


1% 


63 


7% 


390 


41% 


185 


19% 


148 


15% 


90 


9% 


47 


5% 


20 


2% 


8 


1% 



961 



961 



100% 



73 


8% 


390 


41% 


498 


51% 



100% 



Table 15 
Distribution of all the children in group E by age and grade 



GEADE 


>> 


td 

>> 
m 


a! 
>> 
-O 


>> 


a! 
>. 

00 




a! 

0) 




u 

a! 
<L> 


a) 

M 


u 

OS 

>» 

r<3 


C3 
a> 
>> 


u 

crj 




|4 


03 
a) 
>. 

00 




TOTAL 


First 


10 


104 
2 


264 

54 
9 


215 

196 

57 
8 
1 

1 


102 
191 

157 

60 

5 

1 


4i 
103 
189 
164 

39 
3 


6 
42 

108 

150 

158 

57 

6 


3 

7 
57 
103 
178 
118 
50 
9 


5 

2 

16 

40 

104 

135 

122 

30 


2 
II 
30 

59 
91 
159 
122 


I 


3 


I 








755 












Third 


6 
13 

38 

61 

107 

140 


1 
5 

13 

36 

63 

107 


I 










Fourth . . . 












573 


Fifth 








3 
6 
10 

47 








598 
510 


Sixth 








I 

5 
21 


I 
9 


1 












Eighth. . . 














486 
















Total 


10 


106 


327| 478 


Sl6j 539 


527 


525 


454 


474 


366 


228 


68 


27 


10 


I 


4 656 



Summary of Table 15 

Underage two or more years 

Underage one year 

Normal age , 

Overage one year 

Overage two years 

Overage three years 

Overage four years 

Total 

Underage 

Normal age 

Overage 

Total 



55 


1% 


45i 


10% 


2658 


57% 


825 


17% 


410 


9% 


164 


4% 


93 


2% 


4656 


100% 


506 


n% 


2658 


57% 


1492 


32% 


4656 


100% 



These tables disclose an unfortunate state of affairs among the 
children in group F, More than one-half of them are overage. Of 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 41 

all the children who need the Americanizing influence of the school - 
room, these children need it the most ; yet not one-half of them are 
of normal age or underage. Under such conditions we may expect 
a heavy elimination. Among the children of group E approximately 
one out of every three is overage. This fact shows an unfortunate 
condition. 

About eight-ninths of the children of group F attend union or 
parochial schools. These children are found in colonies, the largest 
of which is in Mount Morris. Other colonies are in Greigsville, 
Avon and Geneseo. In these communities the children of group F 
are so numerous that many grades are much overcrowded. In one 
grade of a school in Mount Morris there are 72 children, of whom 62 
belong to group F. The presence of these children brings added 
responsibility, for they need Americanizing. 

For further analysis of the age-grade problem, the children of group 
E of the county have been grouped according to union, 1 rural and 
parochial schools. The tables follow: 

Table 16 
Age-grade distribution of group E children in union schools 

Underage two years 21 1 % 

Underage one year 166 9% 

Normal age 1 125 61 % 

Overage one year 287 16% 

Overage two years 155 8% 

Overage three years 53 3% 

Overage four years or more 26 1 % 

Total 1833 99% 

Summary 

Underage 187 10% 

Normal age 1 125 61 % 

Overage 521 28% 

Total 1833 99% 

Table 17 

Age-grade distribution of group E children in rural schools 

Underage two years or more 32 1 % 

Underage one year 245 11% 

Normal age 1138 5 2 % 

Overage one year 420 20% 

Overage two years 194 9% 

1 There are 1 85 rural school children attending the union schools. Since their 
presence in the union schools and their absence from the rural schools influences 
very little the age-grade distribution, no correction is made for them. See tables 
52-55 for age-grade tables. 



42 THE UNIVERSITY OP THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Overage three years . 
Overage four years . 
Overage five years . . 



Total 

Summary 



83 


4% 


30 


1% 


15 


1% 






2157 


99% 


. . 277 


12% 


1138 


52% 


742 


35% 


2157 


99% 


irochial schools 




27 


5% 


308 


64% 


75 


16% 


34 


7% 


18 


4% 


9 


2% 


10 


2% 


481 


100% 


27 


5% 


308 


64% 


146 


31% 


481 


100% 



Underage. . . 
Normal age. 
Overage.. . . 

Total.. 



Table 18 
Age-grade distribution of group E children in parochial schools 

Underage one or more years 

Normal age 

Overage one year 

Overage two years 

Overage three years 

Overage four years 

Overage five years 

Total 

Summary 

Underage 

Normal age 

Overage 

Total 



The union schools have the smallest per cent of overage pupils, 
with the parochial schools a close second. The rural schools make 
the poorest showing in this respect, yet they make the best from the 
standpoint of underage conditions. 

Acceleration, Retardation and Elimination 

All the School Children in the Grades 
The overage condition just disclosed is not due entirely to a late 
start to school. Many children begin when they should, but fail to 
pass their grade each year. An attempt was made to gather data 
from the various schools to show just how extensive is this retarda- 
tion of the children in the grades of the county. The union schools 
have records from which such data can be secured with difficulty. 
Of the 149 rural schools, 123 report no records whatsoever from 
which the data can be obtained, and the others have some data 
recorded in their attendance registers. In very many of these 
schools the registers of attendance are lost for the preceding two years, 
to say nothing of those of earlier dates. But an approximately 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



43 



accurate idea of the amount of the acceleration, retardation and 
elimination can be obtained from the study of the age-grade tables 
and the graphs with these tables as their basis. 













o 











s 






«v. 








ts. 


^ 




V) 


K 




V£ 


<o 



fj 



vO 



** 



I Z 



T 



Fig. 5 distribution by grades of all the children 

The namber at the foot of each bar designates the grade and 
those within the bars the number in each grade on the basis 
of there being iooo children in the first grade. 

Figure 5 shows the distribution by grades of all grade children 
in the county. For the sake of standardizing the graphs, it is assumed 
that there are 1000 children in the first grade; and the number in 
each of the other grades is determined proportionately with this 
assumption as a basis. The striking feature of this graph is the 
great difference in size between the first and the second grades. This 
is not caused by the children dropping out of school, for very few 
are eliminated at this period of school life. Neither can it be 
assumed that all the children represented by the graph of the first 
grade are beginners. The real cause of the difference in size between 
the first and the second grades is the retardation of many of the 
first-grade children. It will be noted that the size of the grade 



44 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



decreases with advancement. Beyond the first two or three grades 
this decrease in size has a second cause in elimination. 











f"""" 


~ 


"^ 


















♦ 




r* 


<M 


«s 


<& 


o 
o 





,N. 


Ml 





N 














w 


^" 


«M 


f|> 


y> 


•o 


N 


m 


7» 


<*• 










5 


CM 


*0 


o» 


o> 


OS 


O) 


00 


00 


o 


«J» 


v. 


1 * 


0} 


«<i 



































10 II 



12. 



13 I* IS" 16 n IS 19 



Fig. 6 distribution by ages of all the children attending elementary 
schools in the county 

The numbers at the foot of the bars designate the ages. The 9 year old group being the 
largest is represented as being iooo in number and the other groups are represented propor- 
tionately. This means that the number of children of each age is such that if there were iooo 
in the 9 year old group, there would be 31 in the 4 year old group, 237 in the 5 year old group, 
and so on. 

To see the extent to which elimination is a cause of the decrease 
in the size of the grades, figure 6 is constructed to show the distri- 
bution of the children according to ages. As the 9 year old group 
is the largest, this is represented as being 1006 in number. The 
other groups are represented proportionately. This graph shows 
that for the county as a whole the children do not begin to drop out 
of school until the twelfth year, and the heavy drop does not come 
until the fourteenth. Whatever elimination there may be in the 
lower grades, therefore, is due in a very large measure to an overage 
condition, caused either by retardation or by a late start to school. 
Considering 6 and 7 years as the normal ages at which children begin 
school, the graph shows that the number starting late is not large. 
Hence retardation is a powerful cause of the shrinkage in size of the 
grades, as revealed in figure 5. 

No evidence is found to show any perceptible amount of accel- 
eration. This lack of acceleration is due, undoubtedly, to the 
fact that all the schools have annual promotions which make it 
difficult for children to skip grades. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



45 



Comparative Study of the Children in Groups F and E 










00 






L 

00 

to 


v9 



/ 2 3 4 J" 




Fig. 7 distribution by grades of the children in 

GROUP F 

The number at the foot of each bar designates the grade and 
those within the bars the number in each grade on the basis of 
there being iooo children in the first grade. 



Figure 7 reveals the number of first grade children in group F 
enormously large in comparison with the numbers in other grades. 
This abnormal size of the first grade points undoubtedly to a heavy 
retardation, due in a large measure to the fact that very many of 
these children have to spend one or two years in this grade to learn 
the English language. This graph shows that the number of chil- 
dren in the second grade is less than half the number in the first 
grade, and that there is a heavy decrease in the size of each grade 
until the seventh is reached, where but 96 are found against 1000 
in the first. 

Figure 8 shows that these children begin school earlier than those 
in group E. Therefore, there must be a serious retardation in the 
grades other than the first. 



4 6 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 




PlG. 8 DISTRIBUTION BY AGES OF THE CHILDREN IN GROUP F 

The numbers at the foot of the bars designate the ages. The 7 year group being the 
largest is represented as being 1000 in number and the other groups are represented propor- 
tionately. This means that the number of children of each age is such that if there were 1000 
in the 7 year old group, there would be Si in the 4 year old group, 390 in the 5 year old group, 
and so on. 



This problem of retardation is most difficult to solve. Undoubtedly 
it would aid materially if kindergartens were established in these 
schools in which these children might learn the English language, 
and if the grades in which there is a large proportion of these chil- 
dren were restricted to 30 in number. 

But the retardation disclosed is not a whit less appalling than 
the elimination shown by figure 8. The seven year group being 
the largest is represented as 1000 in number and the others are figured 
proportionately. Beyond the seven year group there is a steady 
falling off in number. The number of very young children is com- 
paratively large. It would seem that the parents of these make 
of the school a nursery to care for the small children while the mothers 
work. But just as soon as the child is able to work at home or 
elsewhere, the parent seeks to take him out of school. Apparently 
the parents of the children in group F are evading the compulsory 
education law. If there is any class of children that needs the in- 
fluence of the school as a preparation for citizenship, it is those of 
group F. To keep these children in school is an urgent duty that 
must be faced by the school officials. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



47 







H 


















00 


I 


<*> 


s 

V8 































3 4 & 6 7 8 



Fig. 9 distribution by grades of all the chil- 
dren IN GROUP E 

The number at the foot of each bar designates the grade and 
those within the bars the number in each grade on the basis of 
there being xooo children in the first grade. 



4 8 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



— — 




4 5" 6 7 S 9 lo II IZ 13 /f /S~ /6 17 1 8 19 

Fig. io distribution by ages of all the children in group E 

The numbers at the foot of the bars designate the ages. The 9 year old group being the 
largest is represented as being iooo in number and the other groups are represented prooor- 
tionately. This means that the number of children of each age is such that if there were 
iooo in the 9 year old group, there would be 19 in the 4 year old group, 197 in the 5 year 
old group, and so on. 

Figures 9 and 10 indicate that there are much less retardation 
and elimination among the children of group E. These problems 
will be taken up in a comparative study of the children of group E 
in the union schools, in the rural schools and in the parochial schools. 



Comparative Study of the Children of Group E in the Union, Rural 
and Parochial Schools 

It was found that 185 children from the rural school districts were 
attending the grades in the union schools. Their distribution by 
grades was as follows : first, 3 ; second, 9 ; third, 2 ; fourth, 8 ; fifth, 7 ; 
sixth, 12; seventh, 46; eighth, 98. 

To ignore the presence of these children would give the union 
schools an advantage in comparing them with the rural schools. 
The 185, distributed by grades and ages (see table 55 in the appendix), 
were subtracted from the union school totals and were added to 
the rural school totals. Among the 185 there were no children of 
group F. The corrected totals are 2451 children in the rural schools 
and 2272 in the union schools. 

The parochial schools draw their children from the church parish, 
which does not conform to the boundaries of village, town or dis- 
trict. So both rural and village children attend them. There is 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



49 



very little interchange of pupils between the grades of the public 
schools and those of the parochial schools. 

Figures 1 1 and 1 2 show the distribution of the children in group E 




4 5 fe 7 8 9 IO II 12 13 M IS /6 n IB IS 

FlG. II DISTRIBUTION BY AGES OF THE CHILDREN IN GROUP E WHO ATTEND 
THE GRADES IN UNION SCHOOLS 

The numbers at the foot of the bars designate the ages. The ten year group being the largest 
is represented as being iooo in number and the other groups are represented proportionately. 
This means that the number of children of each age is such that if there were iooo in the 10 
year old group, there would be 24 in the 4 year old group, 187 in the 5 year old group, and so on. 

in the grades of the union schools according to ages and grades. 
Figure n shows nearly normal conditions. 



50 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 




FlG. 12 DISTRIBUTION BY GRADES OF THE CHILDREN IN 
GROUP E WHO ATTEND THE GRADES IN THE UNION SCHOOLS 

The number at the foot of each bar designates the grade and those 
within the bars the number in each grade on the basis of there being 
iooo children in the first grade. 

Since figure n shows that the elimination of children under 14 is 
practically negligible, figure 12 gives quite an accurate index of 
retardation. Again the first grade shows a heavy retardation. There 
appears to be only little retardation in the second and third grades, 
and considerable in the fourth. The age distribution in the third 
and fourth grades of the union schools, fails to reveal any great 
retardation of fourth grade pupils. Evidently the large number of 
pupils in the union school fourth grades is not due to retardation, 
but rather to a larger number of pupils entering school 3 years ago. 
The dropping off in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades is due un- 
doubtedly to elimination. The eighth grade shows a retardation 
which may be easily explained by the fact that the eighth grade 
pupil has certain Regents preliminary examinations to pass before 
he is promoted to the academic department. As a whole these 
conditions are encouraging but can not be called good.. The com- 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



51 



pulsory education law seems to be enforced as far as the figures 
can show. But there is too much retardation, especially in the first 
grade. 




FlG. 13 DiSTRIBUTION BY AGES OF THE CHILDREN IN GROUP E WHO ATTEND 

RURAL SCHOOLS 

The numbers at the foot of the bars designate the ages. The 9 year group being the 
largest is represented as being 1000 in number and the other groups are represented propor- 
tionately. This means that the number of children of each age is such that if there were 
1000 in the 9 year old group, there would be 18 in the 4 year old group, 207 in the 5 year old 
group, and so on. 



The distribution of rural school children according to age and grade 
is shown by tables 13 and 14. It is significant to note in a com- 
parison of figures 1 1 and 1 5 that there are more five year old chil- 
dren in the rural schools than there are in the grades of the union 
schools ; that there are not nearly so many six year olds ; and that there 
are fewer of the eight year olds. The fact that the dropping out of 
school begins with the fourteenth year indicates that the compulsory 
education law is at least fairly well lived up to. 

Heavy retardation in the first grade parish schools is shown by 
figure 14, but it is not quite so heavy as that in the grades of the 
union schools. It may be that the requirements for promotion 
from the first to the second grade in the rural schools are not quite 
so well defined as they are in the union schools. In fact, the basis 
of promotion in very many of the smaller rural schools seems to 
be the time element alone. The figure indicates a considerable 



K2 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



retardation in the fifth grade. This condition may be ac- 
counted for by the fact that in this grade" the children begin to 
take the district superintendents' uniform examinations. These 
figures indicate much retardation in the seventh year. In the 




FlG. 14 DISTRIBUTION BY GRADES OF CHILDREN OF 
GROUP E WHO ATTEND RURAL SCHOOLS 

The number at the foot of each bar designates the grade and 
those within the bars the number in each grade on the basis of 
there being 1000 children in the first grade. 



rural schools there are 64 eighth grade group E pupils to every 100 
group E pupils in the first grade, while in the union schools there 
are 71 eighth grade group E pupils to every 100 group E pupils in 
the first grade. 

The distribution of children in group E in the parochial schools 
by age and grade is shown by figures 15 and 16. Figure 15 
shows that the children in these schools begin their school life at a 
later age than in either the union or the rural schools. In fact, 
one parochial school has not a child less than 7 years of age. It 
is difficult to account for the falling off in the nine year old and in 
the twelve year old groups. It must be remembered that the figures 



Livingston county survey 53 

f 
represent only 481 children and that the smaller the number o 

children studied the greater may be the irregularities. But it is 

clearly shown that the elimination of pupils begins at 9. This 

elimination tends to raise the per cent of normal age and to lowe r 




FlG. 15 DISTRIBUTION BY AGES OF CHILDREN IN GROUP E WHO ATTEND THE 

PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS 

The numbers at the foot of the bars designate the ages. The 8 year group being the largest 
is represented as being iooo in number and the other groups are represented proportionately. 
This means that the number of children of each age is such that if there were iooo in the 8 year 
old group, there would be 147 in the 5 year old group, 412 in the 6 year old group, and so on. 



the per cent of overage children in these schools, for the eliminated 
are practically always the overage or those who will become overage. 
The graph of distribution by grades reveals the least retardation 
in the first grade of any of the groups, but a remarkable piling up 
of children takes place in the third grade, and this is substantiated 
by the graph for this grade. This retardation probably must 
mean that the third grade is the most difficult for the children 
in these schools, and that the first is comparatively easier than the 
first in the union or rural schools. The evidence of elimination gained 
from figure 15, is borne out by figure 16, for there is a shrinkage 
in the size of the grades beyond the third. There are in the eighth 



54 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OP NEW YORK 



grade 42 children to every 100 in the first. This is smaller than is 
found in the other groups of schools and may be testimony to the 
fact that a late start in school means overage conditions and these 




FlG. 16 DISTRIBUTION BY GRADES OF CHILDREN IN 
GROUP E WHO ATTEND THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS 

The number at the foot of each bar designates the grade and 
those within the bars the number in each grade on the basis of 
there being 1000 children in the first grade. 

conditions mean elimination of many children before the eighth 
grade is complete. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



55 



Age-grade Distribution for Grades in the Various Union and 
Parochial Schools 

The age-grade distribution for' the various union and parochial 
schools is found in the following tables. These figures represent 
all the children in the grades of the various schools, including the 
children in groups E and F and those from the rural districts. 



Table iq 
Age-grade distribution for the various union and parochial schools 



SCHOOL 


NO. OF 
PUPILS 


PER CENT 
UNDER- 
AGE 


PER CENT 

NORMAL 

AGE 


PER 
CENT 
OVER- 
AGE 


1 Avon Union 


293 

177 

234 

59 

342 
130 

9i 

74 
249 
201 

78 
103 
82 
76 
177 
322 
420 
188 
.55 


4 



12 

IO 

6 

5 
12 

7 
8 
6 
1 
11 
6 
8 

19 
12 
10 
16 
13 


58 
40 
48 

66 

. 6 4 

78 
67 
66 
70 
57 
56 
46 
57 
63 
57 
48 
42 
56 
67 


38 


1 Avon: St Agnes' 


60 


Caledonia Union 


40 


Dalton Union 


24 


Dansville Union 


3° 


Dansville: St Mary's 


17 


Dansville: St Patrick's 


21 


1 Geneseo Union 


27 


1 Geneseo Normal Training School . . 
1 Greigsville Union 


22 
37 


Groveland Station Union 


42 


Hemlock Union 


43 


Leicester Union School 


37 


Lima: St Rose's 


29 


Livonia Union 


24 


1 Mount Morris Union 


40 


1 Mount Morris; St Patrick's 

Nunda Union 


48 

28 


Springwater Union 


20 







1 These schools have many pupils in group F. 

The overage column in this table represents the children who will 
be beyond the compulsory school age before they complete the eighth 
grade and thereby tend to leave school before completing that grade. 
For the good of all concerned these per cents should be kept at the 
minimum. 

When a child becomes very much overage, he becomes a serious 
problem for the school authorities. He may be much overage because 
of a late start in school, sickness, slowness to learn, or inability to 
follow the work outlined for normal children. No matter what 
may be the cause, a child much overage is sure to become discouraged, 
to lose interest and in very many cases to become a problem in 



56 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



discipline. He is sure to demand more than ordinary attention- 
In any school where there are ten or more children who are three 
or more years overage, there should be provided a special ungraded 
class for them. In such a class those capable of making rapid progress 
should be given the opportunity to make it, and those incapable 
of so doing should pursue a special course of study designed to meet 
their needs. Fairness to these children, to all the other children, 
and to the teachers demands this step. 

Table 20 shows how many children there are in each school who 
are three or more years overage. 



Table 20 
Number of children who are three or more years overage 



SCHOOL 



NO. OF 
PUPILS 



3 YEARS 
OVERAGE 



MORE 

THAN 3 

YEARS 

OVERAGE 



1 Avon Union 

1 Avon: St Agnes' 

Caledonia Union 

Dalton Union 

Dansville Union 

Dansville: St Mary's 

Dansville: St Patrick's 

1 Geneseo Union 

1 Geneseo Normal Training School 

1 Greigsville Union 

Groveland Station Union 

Hemlock Union 

Leicester Union 

Lima: St Rose's 

Livonia Union 

1 Mount Morris Union 

1 Mount Morris: St Patrick's 

Nunda Union 

Springwater 



293 
177 

234 

59 

342 

130 

9i 

74 
249 
201 
778 
103 

82 

76 
177 
322 
420 
188 

55 



13 

a 22 

10 

1 

9 
o 
1 

5 
6 

13 
6 

5 
2 

3 
7 
22 
32 
5 
1 



10 

a 19 

3 
o 

7 
1 
2 

4 
o 
6 

2 

3 

2 

3 
o 

17 

33 

6 

o 



1 These schools have many children who are in group F. 

a The children in this school do not enter the first grade until 7 years of age. 

Retardation and Elimination in the Secondary Departments 

The number of pupils in each of the four years of high school is 
as follows: first year, 382; second year, 255; third year, 185; fourth 
year, 154. These data are depicted graphically in figure 17, in 
which the number of pupils in the first year of high school is repre- 
sented as being 1000 and the number of pupils in each of the other 
years is computed on that basis. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 57 



F/rst year - /ooo chifcfre/) 



Secendyear- 669 cfif/dnm 



Th/rcf year- 
4Q4 c/if/cfrcn 



f&urftj year- 
-9 Q3 c/?//d+ej? 



204 Crf~<%c(c<#tes Con-fi numf 

lis i~i "fist /v ey> s . 

FlG. 17 DISTRIBUTION OF THE PUPILS IN THE SECONDARY DEPART- 
MENTS ACCORDING TO THE YEARS OF WORK 

The number of puoils in the first year is represented as being iooo in number, and 
each of the other years are computed proportionately on that basis. 



The schools define a first year pupil as one who has completed the 
work of the eighth grade but has not earned 17! counts; a second 
year pupil as one who has earned from 17! to 35 counts inclusive; a 
third year pupil as one who earned from 36 to 53 counts inclusive; 
and a fourth year pupil as one who has 54 counts but has not com- 
pleted the requirements for graduation. 

The number of first year pupils is much larger than the number 
of second year pupils. This is undoubtedly due in part to retarda- 
tion and in part to elimination. The fact that there were 246 pre- 
liminary certificates earned in the whole county during the year 
191 7 and that in the same year there were 382 pupils classified as 
first year pupils, may indicate considerable retardation. 

Retardation may also be evident from the fact that 154 children 
were classified as fourth year pupils and only 106 of them were 
graduated. 

There is a very serious break in the continuity of the twelve years 
of public school work, at the end of the eighth year. During the 
month of January 19 17 there were 520 children in the eighth grades 
in the county. During that year only 246 of the 520 earned the 
Regents preliminary certificate, which is the high school entrance 
credential. This is due probably to three causes: (1) very many 
of the rural children do not intend to enter high school, and there- 
fore do not try the Regents examinations; (2) many of the eighth 
grade children drop out of school before finishing the year; (3) many 
pf the children fail to pass. in one or more subjects required for the. 



58 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

preliminary certificate and therefore fail to be classified as first 
year high school pupils. Of these reasons the third is a powerful 
one. The requirements for promotion from the eighth year to the 
ninth year of school are much more difficult than for any other 
promotion in the elementary school. 

Of the 1 06 pupils who were graduated from high school, 78 con- 
tinued their education in other institutions. Twenty-eight of the 
78 went to college. 

The courses of study of all the union schools in the county, with 
the exception of the high schools in Nunda, Greigsville, Mount 
Morris and Dansville, offer only the courses whose aim is the prepara- 
tion for college or normal school. These courses are designed for 
the preparation of the 78 who entered the institutions of higher 
learning. These schools practically compel their high school pupils 
who will never go to college or to any other institution of learning 
to pursue the same course as those planning to attend such insti- 
tutions. In addition to the preparatory courses, the Mount Morris 
and the Nunda High Schools offer a commercial course; the Greigs- 
ville High School offers courses in vocational agriculture and voca- 
tional homemaking; and the Dansville High School offers a com- 
mercial course, a course in vocational agriculture, and one in vocational 
homemaking. In these schools the children who do not expect to 
continue their education after completing the high school work 
may find subjects that will appeal to them as being of a practical 
value. 

The tendency in the county to force all the children through one 
type of course of study is undoubtedly responsible in a large measure 
for a considerable amount of the retardation and elimination of 
the pupils. Those children who do not intend to continue their 
education beyond the high school should be given the opportunity 
to study and train for some sort of productive efficiency. It is 
impossible to do this in all the vocations, but since Livingston 
county is predominantly an agricultural county, there is a demand 
for vocational agriculture and vocational homemaking. Every union 
school would do well to establish these courses to direct the train- 
ing toward the farm and homemaking. The time has come when 
the problems of the farm demand solutions based on scientific 
principles, and it is the function of the schools to help meet these 
demands. 

The expense of maintaining such vocational courses is not great. 
The State and the Nation give most liberal financial support to the 
maintenance of vocational agricultural departments by providing 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



59 



for a very large part of the salaries of the instructors, as is shown 
in the following table: 

Table 21 

Showing the proportion of the agricultural teacher's salary paid by the local 

community, the State and from federal funds 1 



TOTAL SALARY PAID 



PORTIONS PAID BY 



Local 
com- 
munity 



State 



Federal 



5noo 
1200 
1300 
1400 
1500 
1600 
1700 
1800 
1900 
2000 



Woo 

333! 
366| 
200 

233* 
266! 
300 

333 1 
366! 
400 



$800 
866f 

933* 
1000 
1000 
1000 
1000 
1000 
1000 
1000 



$200 
266f 

3333 

400 

466f 

5333- 
600 



No federal aid is given toward the maintenance of the vocational 
homemaking departments but the State pays one-third of the instruc- 
tor's salary. 

As another means of reducing the retardation and elimination of 
the pupils, particularly those in the eighth and ninth years, the 
junior high school organization may be used. This organization 
covers the seventh, eighth and ninth years and has as one of its 
basic principles the differentiation of the program of study into the 
preparatory courses and the vocational courses. In communities 
large enough to warrant its formation a commercial course should 
be added. Not only should there be the differentiation of the pro- 
gram of study, but the work of the teachers should also be depart- 
mentalized. The pupils should be promoted by subjects, and the 
teachers should teach only those subjects in which they have special- 
ized. The fundamental object of the junior high school seems to be 
to guide the children vocationally, particularly by the enrichment of 
the program. 

The junior high school organization has been found to be quite 
successful in reducing the amount of retardation and elimination 
in the many schools throughout the Nation that have adopted it. 

l Page 61 of the Journal of the Meeting of the Board of Regents, March 28, 1018. 



60 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

The Dansville High School has such an organization. In 1911-12 
this school had an enrolment of 99 pupils in its ninth, tenth, eleventh 
and twelfth years. In 191 7-18 the enrolment was 174. During 
this period the increase in population of the community has been 
small. The credit for this increase in high school population is 
given to the introduction of the courses in commercial work, agri- 
culture and homemaking, and also to the .establishment of a junior 
high school. 

Summary of Recommendations 

1 Permanent record cards should be kept on file and up-to-date 
in every school in the county for each child attending it. On these 
cards should be recorded the date and place of birth and the nation- 
ality of the child, the nationality of the child's parents, the child's 
residence, the date when he began school, the progress he has made, 
and the different schools he has attended. 1 Children transferring 
from one school to another should be required to present a transfer 
card on which is recorded this information. If some such plan as 
this were followed, it would be possible to determine exactly and with 
comparatively little trouble the data concerning acceleration, retarda- 
tion and elimination. 

2 Every effort should be made by the school officials to have the 
children begin school at 6 or 7 years of age, preferably at 6. They may 
then complete the eight grades within the time limit of the compul- 
sory education law. 

3 School officials should not permit a first grade to number more 
than 40 children. 

4 Schools which have many children in group F should have 
kindergartens in which these children may learn the English language 
and prepare for the first grade work. These grades should be 
restricted to not more than 30 children. The local communities 
are in need of the aid and guidance of specialists to study the problems 
presented by these children. The communities feel the need of 
state truant officers to cooperate with the local truant officers to keep 
these children in school. 

5 Schools in which there are 10 or more children who are three or 
more years overage should form special grades in which these children 
may receive special instruction suited to their needs. 

6 It is advised that the union schools of the county add to their 
program of school work courses in vocational agriculture and in 



1 Recommendation in conformity with the National Education Association 
record forms. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 6l 

Vocational homemaking, and that the school authorities give con- 
sideration to the establishment in their schools of junior high school 
departments. 

THE TEACHING CORPS — THE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS 

Introduction 

In Livingston county the teaching corps of the public schools for 
19 1 7-18 consisted of 3 district superintendents of schools, 12 union 
school principals, 4 teachers of vocational work in agriculture or 
homemaking, 14 teachers of physical training, 46 teachers who spend 
all or a part of their time teaching secondary subjects in the union 
schools, 62 who teach only grade work in the union schools, and 166 
rural school teachers. With the exception of 4 physical training 
teachers, 1 union school grade teacher, 1 union school secondary 
teacher, 2 rural school teachers, and the faculty of the State Normal 
School at Geneseo, all the public school teachers in the county are 
included in this study. 

The material for this chapter which deals with the teaching corps 
of the public elementary schools was gathered as follows : 

1 On November 23, 191 7, the district superintendents held at 
Geneseo a conference of all the rural school teachers in the county. 
At that conference a questionnaire was given to each of the teachers 
present. Each question was carefully explained, and after each 
explanation the teachers wrote their answers. The district super- 
intendents and two of the surveyors gave the individual teachers 
what aid they could in answering them. At a later date the district 
superintendents called on the rural teachers who were absent at the 
conference, and secured their answers to the questions. 

2 The same day all the principals of the union schools met at 
Geneseo. To these were delivered a questionnaire for those of their 
teachers who taught grade work only. These questions were 
explained to the principals who in turn made the explanations to 
their teachers and assisted them in preparing the answers. 

3 The district superintendents and the principals answered 
questionnaires specially prepared for them. 

District Superintendents 

The county is divided into three supervisory districts with a 
district superintendent in charge of each. These superintendents 
have authority over all the public schools in the county with the 
exception of the State Normal School at Geneseo, though they 



62 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF, NEW YORK 

confine their efforts mostly to the rural schools. The supervision 
and administration of the union schools are left mainly to the prin- 
cipals. The superintendents estimate that more than half of their 
time is taken up in clerical and administrative work. The remainder 
is spent in supervising the work of the schools. 

These men are all graduates of the Geneseo State Normal School. 
One has had a summer course at Syracuse University and another 
one year of work in Columbia University. One had a year of 
experience as a teacher of a one-room rural school before he took 
office as a district superintendent. Another taught a one-room 
rural school one year and for five years was principal of a high school 
in a village of about iooo inhabitants. The third taught a one-room 
rural school for one year, was principal of a two-room rural school 
for ten years and of a small rural high school for four years. Each 
has lived on a farm all of his life and is an experienced farmer. The 
salary of each of two is $2000 with an extra $300 for expenses, and 
that of the third is $1800 with an extra $300 for expenses. 

These superintendents are in sympathy with the rural schools and 
seek conscientiously to serve their best interests. But they are 
handicapped in their work of supervision because of the large amount 
of time demanded of them in dealing with the problems of 156 indi- 
vidual trustees of the rural schools. It would simplify the super- 
intendents' work very much if the unit of administration were 
increased at least to the town. 

Principals of Union Schools as Supervisors of the Grade Work 

The complete data regarding the principals are found on page 
86. At this point only the facts concerning them as supervisors 
of the grade work will be dwelt upon. 

One principal has to spend 86 per cent of the school day teaching 
secondary school subjects, four 75 per cent, one 57 per cent, three 43 per 
cent, and three 29 per cent. In all but one case the schedule of high 
school classes is fixed. The result is that only the grade work done 
when the principal is not teaching can be supervised unless he takes 
time from his secondary school classes. In one small union school 
the program is flexible so that the principal may supervise at 
different times of the day without interfering with his classes. In 
five of the union schools the principals have as heavy a schedule of 
teaching as have many of the teachers. 

Five of the twelve principals have had instruction in the methods 
of teaching grade work either in a training class or in a normal school. 
Of the other seven, four have had collegiate courses in psychology, 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SU&VEY 



63 



principles of education, and other professional subjects. None of 
these four has had training in the supervision of the teaching of ele- 
mentary subjects. The other three principals have had no pro- 
fessional training. 

Of the twelve principals, four came to their present positions with- 
out experience as teachers. Two of these four have had no profes- 
sional training. The other two have had only the general professional 
training offered by the colleges. One came to his present position 
with two years of experience as secondary school teacher. He has 
had no professional training in a normal school or a college. 

Elementary School Teachers 

Salaries 

The salaries of the rural teachers 1 and of the union school grade 
teachers * are given in the following table. 

Table 22 
Salaries of the elementary school teachers 



SALARIES 



RURAL 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 



UNION 

SCHOOL 

GRADE 

TEACHERS 



$350-$374. • • • 

375-399-.. 
400 - 424. . . 

425-449... 
450 -474- ■ • 
475 -499- ■ ■ 
500-524... 

525-549..., 
550-574-.-. 

575-599---. 
600 - 624. . . . 
625-649.... 
650-674.... 
675-699.... 
700 - 724. . . 
750-774.... 
775-799- • • 

Total 

Median salary 



5 
12 

9 
34 
40 

6 
29 

13 
6 
2 
1 
1 
1 
2 
I 
1 
a 1 



164 



$464 



I 
2 

1 1 
8 
3 
4 

15 
9 
5 



61 



5 
12 

9 
34 
41 

8 
40 
21 

9 

6 

16 

10 

6 

2 

4 
1 
1 



225 



$502 



1 For definitions of rural schools and union schools see page 36. The teachers 
of grade work in the state normal school are not included. 

a Male principal of a rural four-department school. All union school grade 
teachers are women. 



64 



fHE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF &EW YOfcK 



This table is read as follows : there are 5 rural school teachers who 
receive a salary between $350 and $374 inclusive, 12 who receive a 
salary between $375 and $399 inclusive, and so on. The median 
salary of the rural school teachers is $464, and that of the union 
school grade teacher is $603 . To term a salary a median or middle 
salary means that there are as many teachers receiving salaries less 
than it as there are teachers receiving salaries more than it. 

The amounts paid weekly by the teachers for board and room are 
shown in the following table : 

Table 23 
Amounts paid by elementary teachers for board and room 



AMOUNT A WEEK 



RURAL 
SCHOOL 



UNION 
SCHOOL 



$2.... 

3- • ■ 
3 SO. 
3-75- 
4.... 

4-25- 

4-5°- 

5. 

5 

5 

6 

6.25. 

6.50. 

6-75. 

7.. • 

8.... 



25- 
50. 



1 

6 

12 

1 

23 
6 

8 

29 

1 

6 

5 
3 

2 



Total no. of answers . 
No answers given . . . 
Median amount 



1 

6 

12 

1 

24 
6 

8 

41 

1 

10 

11 

3 
11 

2 

14 
1 



108 



44 



56 



17 



152 
73 



$4-50 



Although the teacher actually teaches from 36 to 40 weeks of the 
year, yet she has to meet her living expenses for 52 weeks. If the 
median amount paid for board and room by the rural school teacher 
is $4.50 a week, then the median for the year is $234; for the union 
school grade teacher it is $312. Therefore the median amount left 
of a rural teacher's salary after her bill for board and room is paid is 
$230; for the union school grade teachers it is $291. The salaries of 
neither the rural nor the union school grade teachers can be called 
satisfactory. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



65 



Experience 

The distribution of the teachers according to experience is shown 
in the following table : 



Table 24 
Distribution of elementary teachers on the basis of experience 



YEARS OF EXPERIENCE 



None 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6-10 

n-15 

16-20 

21 or more 

Total 

Median no. of years of 
experience 



RURAL TEACHERS 



No. of 
teachers 



27 
25 
15 
20 

H 

9 

3i 

11 



164 



Per cent 



17 

15 

9 

12 

9 

5 

19 

7 
2 

5 



3 years 



GRADE TEACHERS 
IN UNION SCHOOLS 



No. Of 
teachers 



6 

9 
6 

4 
6 
12 
1 
6 
3 



61 



Per cent 



13 
10 

15 
10 

7 

10 
20 

2 
10 

5 



4 years 



No. of 

teachers 



35 
3i 
24 
26 
18 
15 
43 
12 
10 
11 



225 



Per cent 



16 

13 

11 
12 

8 

7 

19 

5 
4 

5 



This table is read as follows: There are 27, or 17 per cent, of 
the rural teachers, 8, or 13 per cent, of the union school grade teachers, 
and 35, or 16 per cent, of both rural and union school grade teachers 
who have had no experience previous to that of the current year, 
and so on. 

The facts are revealed by this table that the rural schools have 
a larger per cent of inexperienced teachers than the grades of the 
union schools; and that the per cent of rural teachers who have had 
more than five years' experience is less than that of the union school 
grade teachers. The median number of years of experience is 
3 years for rural school teachers, and 4 years for the union school 
grade teachers. 

Relation between Salaries and Experience 

The relation between salaries and experience is shown in table 25. 

The median salary of the rural school teachers who have had no 

experience is $442 ; of those who have had from 1 to 5 years' experience 

inclusive is $464; of those who have had from 6 to 10 years' experience 

3 



66 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



inclusive is $502; and of those who have had 15 or more years' 
experience is $463. The lack of financial encouragement for the 
successful teachers to remain in the rural schools is reflected in the 
fact that no of the 164 teachers have had 5 or less years' experi- 
ence in teaching. It is a significant fact that those teachers in the 
rural schools who have taught n or more years receive a median 
salary which is only $21 more than the median salary received by 
those rural school teachers who have had no experience previous 
to the year in which the data for the survey were secured. 



Table 25 



Relation between salary and experience 

Rural Teachers Union School Grad 


3 Teachers 






EXPERIENCE 


EXPERIENCE 


SALARY 


1 


H 

>> 
10 

1 


u 

>» 



vO 


u 
10 

V 




CI 

1 


10 

u 

>» 



u 

> 




"3 


H 


a 


5 


1 


1H 

>. 

O 

7 



to 
l-i 

>> 

10 

1 


to 
H 
>. 

O 
1 


CO 

H 
>. 

O 
<s 
u 
S 

> 
O 


"is 

O 






4 
5 
3 
IS 
26 
4 
13 
6 
3 


2 
I 

6 

4 
2 
8 
3 
2 
1 


I 






5 

12 

9 

35 

40 

6 

29 

13 

6 

2 

1 

1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

164 








s 

3 

8 
5 






















2 
2 


I 
I 


I 
4 
2 


































1 
2 
3 

2 












1 














2 




3 

1 
1 


3 

2 


2 


1 


5 
4 
1 
3 
10 
4 
3 


1 
4 
1 
1 
3 
1 




2 




11 




8 








I 


3 




1 










4 






1 












15 






1 










2 


2 


9 






1 
2 








5 
























1 










1 


1 


I 






3 




1 
27 

$442 
















Total 


83 

$464 


3i 

$502 


11 


4 

$463 


8 


8 

$508 


3i 
$606 


12 
S550 


I 


6 

I638 


3 


61 


















The corresponding data for the union school grade teachers follow: 



No experience : Median salary. . . . 

1 to 5 years of experience Median salary .... 

6 to 10 years of experience Median salary .... $550 

More than 10 years of experience Median salary. . . . 



It is observed that there is a greater financial inducement for the 
successful teacher to remain in the grades of the union schools than 
there is for the successful teacher to remain in the rural schools; 
and that the median salary of those who have served a long term 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



67 



of years as a teacher and who are teaching in the union school grad es 
is larger than that of the rural teachers who have had like terms 
of service. 

Surveys made of rural schools in Saline county, Missouri, the 
state of North Dakota, and Lane county, Oregon, give the following 
data concerning rural teachers' salaries: 

Lane County, Oregon — iqi6 
Average monthly salary of teachers in one-room rural schools, $55 
Average monthly salary of assistant teachers in rural schools of more than one- 
room, $72 

North Dakota 
Average yearly salary paid teachers in one-room rural schools in North Dakota 
for the year 1918, $449.16 

Saline County, Missouri — 1914 
Monthly salaries paid rural teachers: highest $80, lowest $32.50, median $50 
Cost of board and room a week: highest $5, lowest $1.50, median $3 

Median yearly salary on 12 month basis $600 

Median yearly board and room bill on 12 month basis $156 

Median balance $444 

Tenure 
Table 26 shows that one-half of the rural teachers are just beginning 
their first year in their present schools and that the grade teachers 
remain in their positions for a longer period than do the rural teachers. 

Table 26 
Year of service of the teachers in their present positions 



YEAR OF SERVICE 



1st year . 

2d year. 

3d year. 

4th year . 

5th year . 

6th year . 

7th year . 

8th year . 

9th year . 
I oth year. 
1 2th year . 
22d year. 
26th year. 

Total 



RURAL SCHOOL 
TEACHERS 



No. of 
teachers 



82 
38 
20 
11 

5 
2 
1 

1 

2 
2 



164 



Per cent 



50 

23 
12 

7 
3 
I 
1 

1 
1 
1 



GRADE TEACHERS 
IN UNION SCHOOLS 



No. Of 

teachers 



26 

8 

4 
6 

4 
3 
2 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
2 

61 



Per cent 



43 

13 

7 

10 

7 
5 
3 
2 
2 
2 

3 
2 

3 



TOTAL 



No. of 
teachers 



108 

46 

24 

17 

9 

5 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

225 



Per cent 



48 
20 
11 

8 

4 
2 
1 

1 
1 
2 



68 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

One hundred twenty-one rural school teachers who have had 
experience previous to that of the year 191 7-18 reported the number 
of different schools in which they have taught. The study of the 
relation existing between the number of schools in which these rural 
school teachers have taught and the number of years of their 
experience 1 shows that 2 have taught on the average less than one 
year in each of their schools; that 46 teachers have taught on the 
average from one year up to two years in each of their schools; 
that 54 teachers have taught on the average from two years up to 
three in each of their schools, and that only 19 teachers have had 
an average length of service of three or more years in each of their 
schools. In other words, 40 per cent of the rural teachers remain 
on the average less than two years in a school, and 86 per cent of 
these remain less than three years in a school. Only 14 per cent 
of these teachers have an average tenure of three or more years 
in a school. The longest average tenure of any of the 121 reported 
is five years. It is a significant fact that one teacher has taught 
in thirteen different rural schools in 21 years and another in sixteen 
different schools in 30 years. 

Teachers Employed in their Home Districts 
There were 18 per cent of the 164 rural school teachers, and 31 
per cent of the 61 union school grade teachers teaching in their home 
districts. By home district is meant the district in which the teacher 
made her residence before taking the position she now holds. 

These facts refute the commonly accepted statement that the 
rural schools employ more teachers in their home districts than do 
the union schools. 

Teachers who Have Lived on a Farm 

All but one of the 164 rural teachers gave information as to whether 

they have ever lived on a farm. Of the 163, 125, or 77 per cent, 

lived on a farm a part or all of their lives. Of the 61 union school 

grade teachers, 51 per cent lived all or a part of their lives on a farm. 

Distribution of Teachers According to their Home Counties and States 
The location of the teachers' childhood homes was determined 
on the basis of the location of the high schools or preparatory schools 
from which they were graduated. The distribution of the teachers 
on this basis is shown in the following table. 

1 See table 8 in the appendix. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



69 



Table 27 
Distribution of rural and union school grade teachers by states and counties 



COUNTIES 


RURAL 
TEACHERS 


UNION 

SCHOOL 

GRADE 

TEACHERS 


TOTAL 


Livingston 


50 

12 

2 

3 
6 

7 
3 
1 


23 
2 

3 

7 
2 
2 
1 

3 


73 


1 Allegany 


14 


1 Genesee 


5 


1 Monroe 


10 


1 Ontario 


8 


1 Steuben 


9 
4 

1 


1 Wyoming 


Broome 


Chemung 


1 


Cortland 




1 


Erie 






Niagara 


1 
1 


1 


Onondaga 


2 


Orleans 


1 


Oswego 


1 
2 


1 


Wayne 


7 
1 


Yates 


State of Vermont 




1 








Total 


89 


54 


143 




Not graduates of high or preparatory schools . . 


69 


5 


74 


No answer 


6 


2 


8 







1 Counties bordering Livingston. 

Of the 89 rural teachers whose home county was determined, 
81, or 93 per cent, have come from Livingston county or those 
counties bordering it, while of the 54 union school teachers, 40, or 
74 per cent, have come from Livingston county or those counties 
bordering it. 



70 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Distribution of Teachers According to Age 

The median age of both the rural and the union school teachers 
is 24 years. The range of ages for the former is 18 to 62 and for the 
latter 19 to 44. 



Table 28 
Distribution of rural and union school grade teachers according to age 



18. 

19- 

20. 
21 . 



23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

3i 

32 

33 • • 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38 :. 

39 

41 

42 

43 '••■> 

44 

47 

49 

50 

5i 

57 

58 

62 

No age given . 

Total 

Median 



RURAL 

TEACHERS 



4 

5 

21 

19 
17 
13 
14 

9 

8 

4 
9 
3 

3 
7 
2 

4 
1 
1 

2 
1 

5 
1 
2 
1 

1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 



164 
24 



UNION 

SCHOOL 

GRADE 

TEACHERS 



6l 



24 



TOTAL 



4 

7 
24 
23 
26 

19 
22 
12 

12 

7 
11 

4 
3 
9 
2 

5 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
6 
1 
2 

3 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
I 
I 
I 
4 

225 
24 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



71 



Number of Grades and Children per Teacher 
The median number of grades taught by the rural teachers is five 
and the median number taught by the union school grade teachers 
is one. 

Table 29 
Number of grades taught by the teachers 



NO. OF GRADES 


NUMBER OF 

RURAL 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 


NUMBER OF 
UNION 
SCHOOL 
GRADE 

TEACHERS 

9 


TOTAL 


I 


I 

9 
29 

37 

28 

35 

• 18 

6 


40 
II 
IO 


41 
20 


2 


3 


39 

37 
28 


4 


5 




6 




35 
18 


7 




8 




6 








Total 


163 
I 


61 


224 
1 


No report 








Median 


5 grades to 
the teacher 


i grade to 
the teacher 


4 grades to 
the teacher 





This table is read thus: there are one rural teacher and 40 union 
school grade teachers who have charge of only one grade, 9 rural 
and 11 union school teachers who have charge of two grades, etc. 
The rural teacher, therefore, has a much greater range of school 
work to cover than the union school grade teacher. In order to 
cover this successfully she -needs a general and thorough training 
in the methods of teaching each of the eight grades, while the union 
school grade teacher may become a specialist in the primary grade 
work, the intermediate grade work or the grammar grade work. 



/^ 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 30 
Number of pupils to the teacher 



2 or 3. 

4 or 5. 

6 or 7 . 

8 or 9. 
10 or 11. 
12 or 13. 
14 or 15. 
16 or 17. 
18 or 19. 
20 or 21. 
22 or 23. 
24 or 25 . 
26 or 27. 
28 or 29. 
30 or 31. 
32 or 33 . 
34 or 35 . 
36 or 37 . 
38 or 39 . 
40 or 41 . 
42 or 43 . 
44 or 45. 
46 or 47 . 
50 or 51 . 
56 or 57 . 
74 or 75. 



Total. 
Median . . . 



NUMBER OF PUPILS 



RURAL 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 



5 
15 
16 
11 
16 

23 
16 

14 
16 
12 

4 
2 

5 
3 
1 
1 
1 



164 



12 or 13 

group 



UNION 

SCHOOL 

GRADE 

TEACHERS 



6l 



32 or 33 

group 



5 

15 
16 
11 
16 
23 
17 
17 
17 
14 



9 
11 

2 



225 



16 or 17 

group 



While the rural teacher has many more grades to teach, she has 
a median number of only 12 or 13 children in her charge, against 
a median of 32 or 33 children for the union school grade teacher. 
The distribution of the children according to grades is shown by 
table 31. This table is read as follows: there are 61 rural schools 
which have 1 or 2 pupils in the first grade, 64 which have 1 or 2 
pupils in the second grade, 64 which have 1 or 2 pupils in the third 
grade and so on. 

Some union schools departmentalize their seventh grades and most 
of them their eighth grades and the children in them are promoted 
by subjects instead of by grades. Because of this there are few 
seventh and eighth grades reported. One union school has a 
kindergarten of 2 1 children which is not reported in the above table 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



73 



S jss 





en 

H 

«! 
K 



o 

M 

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n 


"3 

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co c^cc 


co too 


co co -tf h 


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CO •>* i- 




o 


to CO -^H 








CO 


N ft 

o o 

w *-* 
IN M 




* 

CO 




H 






M 










0i 


H 
























Ifl 


M ft 

o o 










M M 






H 






IN 


HUM 




















oa 


IN P, 

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a 






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M M 










M M 










o 


vO 

M ft 

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to bo 


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o 
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a 










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H 






H 


M H Ol 








W M 










» 


« ft 

o o 

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a 








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»H 


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M M M 


M M 










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w 






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H ft 

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t> 00 




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co 






MonHCi 










M M 




M 




M M 










■* 


« ft 
h bo 




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H H 


01 IN 


H 








H 


M 


W 






cq 








M 


v. 3 
o o 

CO 00 




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M 




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co 






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CN 




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Q 
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ro 


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cn a 

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CO 


^t ft 

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CO 


rrOO N IN 
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N ft 

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rf t- 01 co 




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N ft 

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H bO 




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l- 
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f 


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o 


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C 

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0] 


o 
f 


f 
o 

V 

f 


OC 

rr 
o 


c 
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c 
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1" 


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w 
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so 

o 


a. 





74 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



The median number of children in the rural first, second, third, 
fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades is either i or 2, and in the 
fourth grade it is either 3 or 4. In the union school grades the median 
number of children to the grade varies from, 11 to 28. 

Hiring of Teachers 

In the union schools the teachers are hired by the board of edu- 
cation upon the recommendation of the principals. In the rural 
schools most of the trustees hire the teachers solely upon their own 
judgment, though some consult the district superintendent about 
the candidates' qualifications. One district superintendent estimates 
that about 50 per cent of the trustees hire without regard to anything 
except price. Another states that about 70 per cent of the trustees 
hire without recommendation from him. 

In one county in Wisconsin " careful inquiry showed that for two 
years past (19 12) no rural school teacher had been employed without 
the advice and consent of the county superintendent." 



Certification of Teachers 
Distribution of teachers according to certificate held. The dis- 
tribution of the teachers according to the kinds of certificate held 
is shown in table 32. 

Table 32 
Certificates to teach held by the elementary teachers 



LICENSE 



RURAL 
TEACHERS 



UNION 

SCHOOL 

GRADE 

TEACHERS 



Temporary 

Academic 

Rural renewable . 

Training class C 1 , 



Training class B 1 

Training class A 1 

First grade 

Normal school 

College grad. prof, pro v. 
College grad. prof, life . . 



Total. 



9 
25 

3 
45 



10 
12 

7 
53 



164 



54 
I 
I 



61 



10 

25 

3 

45 



11 

15 

7 

107 

1 

I 



225 



draining class A, valid in any school in the State; training class B, valid in 
the grades in any school in the State; training class C, not valid in the union school 
grades. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 75 

In this table all certificates listed above the heavy line are those 
which are valid in a rural school only. Therefore, only 50 per cent 
of the rural teachers have certificates which will permit them to 
teach in the union school grades. One union school has a teacher 
with a temporary license. The holder is a graduate of a Vermont 
state normal school. Twenty-nine, or 18 per cent, of the rural 
teachers have certificates other than the normal school diploma 
that will permit them to teach in union school grades, yet it is a 
rare thing for teachers with such certificates to be engaged by boards 
of education of union schools. 

Education and Professional Training of the Teachers 

Of the 120 rural teachers who have completed a course of pro- 
fessional training (other than a six weeks' summer course at a normal 
school), 67, or 56 per cent, have completed a one-year training 
class course, and 53, or 44 per cent have completed a two-year or 
four-year normal school course. 

Of the 61 union school grade teachers 4, or 7 per cent, have com- 
pleted a one-year training class course, 55, or 90 per cent have 
completed a two-year or four-year normal school course, and 2, 
or 3 per cent, a four-year college course. 

It is surprising to find that 44, or 2 7 per cent, of the rural teachers 
either have had no professional training or else have completed only 
a part of a course in professional training. 

These facts show that the standards set for the rural teacher 
are inferior to those set for the union school grade teacher. 

The education of the rural and the union school grade teachers 
is shown by table 41. Ninety-five, or 58 per cent, of the rural 
teachers and 56, or 92 per cent, of the union school grade teachers 
are high school graduates. One hundred twenty, or 73 per cent, 
of the rural teachers and 61, or 100 per cent, of the union school 
grade teachers have completed a course of professional training in 
either a training class or a normal school. The rural school teachers, 
therefore, are not the equals of the union school grade teachers in 
either education or professional training. 



/6 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 33 
The teachers' education * 



EDUCATION 


RURAL 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 


UNION 

SCHOOL 

GRADE 

TEACHERS 


TOTAL 


Part high school 


2 

2 

42 

I 

9 

1 
1 
1 

1 

20 


I 

I 

2 

5 

46 

2 

4 




High school 




Part high school and training class 


43 

1 

9 


Part high school and part normal school 

Part high school, training class and part normal 
school 


Part high school, training class and normal 
school 


High school, part training class 


1 


High school, part training class and part normal 
school 


1 


High school and training class 


21 


High school, training class and part normal 
school 


2 


High school and part normal 


28 
2 
2 

1 

37 
1 


28 


High school, training class and normal school . . 

High school, part normal school and part college 

High school, training class, normal school and 

part college 


7 

2 

i 


High school and normal school 


83 

1 


High school and part college 


High school and college 


2 


Normal school 


12 
1 


16 


Part normal school 


1 






Total 


164 


61 


225 





1 Four teachers who are credited in this table with a training class education 
failed to qualify for a training class certificate. 



Nature of the Rural Teachers' Professional Training 
The normal schools and the training classes are the two institutions 
at which the rural school teachers in the county received their pro- 
fessional training. The normal school trains teachers primarily for 
the elementary schools. Their graduates secure positions almost 
exclusively in city and village schools. Those graduates who accept 
positions in rural schools begin their duties with little training 
for the problems peculiar to the rural school. If they have attended 
a rural school in their childhood, the memory of how it was conducted 
may help them in meeting their problems. 

The candidates for an academic license must be graduates of a 
high school and must take a summer term of six weeks in a norma 1 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY J7 

school during which term the candidate must take thirty periods 
of 45 minutes each in rural school administration. 1 Unless she has 
lived on a farm she goes to the rural school with a very meager 
knowledge of rural life. Such a short course of training is quite 
inadequate for the complex problems of the rural school. 

The training classes are designed to train rural teachers. The 
requirements for admission are three years of high school training. 
The course is one year in length and is in charge of one teacher. 
She has to instruct her pupils in methods of teaching arithmetic, 
English, physiology and hygiene, reading, writing, spelling, history 
and geography; to give them instruction in the subject matter 
of nature study, agriculture, and drawing and handwork, and 
in the methods of teaching them; and lastly to instruct them 
in psychology and principles of education, school management 
and hygiene, and school law. No instruction is given in rural 
sociology or homemaking. The instruction in agriculture is 
necessarily very meager . and consists almost entirely of book 
knowledge with no field or observation work. In fact, the syllabus 
of the work to be covered in agriculture is the same as that for the 
pupils the prospective teacher is preparing to teach. Before a 
training class pupil is licensed to teach she has to pass Regents 
examinations in the subjects studied and these examinations naturally 
aid the training class teacher to interpret the syllabus of instruction. 
The last examination paper in nature study and agriculture consisted 
of ten questions, eight of which the candidate had to answer. Of the 
ten, seven concern nature study, one concerns forestry, one the 
milk industry and the tenth potato growing. An alternative is 
offered for the tenth. This deals with junior home project work. 
It is possible for a city-bred person who has had good instruction 
in high school biology and hygiene to pass this examination in 
nature study and agriculture without special preparation for it. 

It is evident, therefore, that the rural school teacher does not 
receive so thorough a preparation for her work as the union school 
grade teacher does for hers. 

Rural Teachers who Have Had Instruction in Agriculture and 
Household Art 

Of the 164 rural school teachers 34, or 21 per cent, have had 
instruction in agriculture, 23 of whom received it at a training class, 
8 at a normal school, 1 at a high school, another at Cornell, and one 

1 Summer session catalog of the Geneseo State Normal School. 



78 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

at a summer school. Seven studied agriculture one year, 23 a half 
year, 2 ten weeks, and 1 two weeks. 

: Forty-one, or 25 per cent, of the rural school teachers have had 
instruction in homemaking, 31 of whom received it at a normal 
school, 5 at a high school, 1 at Cornell, 1 at Mechanics Institute, 

I at a training class, 1 at St Lawrence State School of Agriculture, 
and 1 at the hands of a private tutor. The length of the courses 
varied from two years to six weeks. 

Sixty, or 37 per cent, of the rural school teachers have read books 
on agriculture, 30, or 18 per cent, books on homemaking and 18, or 

II per cent, books on rural life and its problems. 

In this connection it should be remembered that 38, or 23 per 
cent, of the rural teachers have never lived on a farm at any time 
during their lives. 

Professional Magazines Read 

All but 9 of the rural teachers and all but 1 of the union school 
grade teachers read professional magazines. One magazine which is 
devoted very largely to methods and devices to aid the teachers 
in rural schools and in the grades of village schools is read by 145 
of the rural teachers and by 50 of the union school grade teachers. 
The rural teachers select their reading from seven different pro- 
fessional magazines, while the union school grade teachers select 
theirs from nine. 

The Rural Teacher and the Parents 

At the conference for rural teachers held at Geneseo November 23, 
19 1 7, there were 95 rural school teachers who had taught in Livingston 
county rural schools the previous year. These furnished the follow- 
ing facts. 

There were no meetings for other than children in 40 of the 95 
schools. Each of 33 schools had one entertainment, each of 2 
had two entertainments, and each of 2 had three. Five schools 
had mothers' or parents' meetings, 8 had picnics, and 2 had socials. 
In 14 schools meetings in no way connected with school work were 
held. Of these 12 were religious, 2 were Red Cross meetings, and 
1 was a meeting of the Dairymen's League. In 29 school districts 
no parents visited the school during the year, and in the remaining 
66 the median number who visited the schools is four. In 17 school 
districts there were no meetings which the parents attended nor 
were there any parents who visited these schools. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 79 

Those teachers who had mothers' or parents' meetings deserve 
commendation. Other teachers will do well to follow the example 
set. To interest the parents in the school, its work, and its problems 
will aid the teacher very materially in her work. So are the teachers 
to be commended who had entertainments to which the parents 
were invited. Teachers do well who encourage community meetings. 
In this connection it should be recalled that only 10 rural schools 
make provision for tying horses. 

School Fairs and Home Projects 
Forty-eight of the 95 schools had school exhibits or fairs during 
19 1 7-18. Twenty of these schools had exhibits at the Hemlock 
Fair !% 35 at the Avon Fair and 8 in the school buildings. Ten schools 
had 36 pupils in all carrying on home projects in agriculture and 
6 schools had 19 pupils in all carrying on homemaking projects. 
The teachers of these schools deserve commendation, particularly 
those who have succeeded in introducing the home project idea. 
Such is considered the best way to carry on elementary vocational 
work. If the teacher knows enough of agriculture or homemaking 
to give the child preliminary instruction for carrying on the proj- 
ects, she will be more successful in this respect than she would be 
without such knowledge. 

Attitude of the Rural Teachers toward Their Positions 
The rural teachers were asked the following question: If you 
were offered two positions for the coming year that would net you 
the same amount of money a year, one in a rural school, the other 
in the grades of a union school, which would you accept (assuming 
that the license you hold would permit you to choose the latter if 
you so desire)? Of the 164 teachers, 117 said they would accept 
the position in the grades of a union school, 44 the position in a 
rural school, 3 either of them, 1 neither, and 1 made no answer. 
The teachers were asked to give their reasons for their choice. 
Table 34 gives the answers of the 117 preferring the position in a 
union school. 



So 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 34 
Reasons for preferring a grade position in a^union school 



REASONS GIVEN 



NO. OF 

TEACHERS 

GIVING 

THEM 



There are fewer grades to teach 

Better equipment is available 

Boarding and social conditions are better 

There are better advantages — lectures, plays, libraries etc 

The work is more interesting because there are more children 

There is a greater opportunity for advancement . .• 

The teacher does not have to do janitor work 

The professional conditions are better 

The supervision is better 

Her training is for grade work in a city or village 

It would be an advancement to secure a position in a city or village 

The sanitary conditions are better 

There is no " spite work " in a union school district 

The attendance of the pupils is better 

The pupils must have books 

Total 



80 
50 
34 
17 
13 
12 

5 
4 
4 
3 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 



228 



This table is read as follows: 80 teachers give the first reason, 
50 give the second, and so on. Some teachers gave more than one 
reason which fact accounts for the 228 reasons given by 117 teachers. 
It is significant that the reasons — "fewer number of grades," 
" better equipment," and " better boarding and social conditions " — 
are 72 per cent of all given. 

Table 35 gives the reasons why the 44 teachers prefer the rural 
school position. 

Table 35 
Reasons for preferring the rural school position 



REASONS GIVEN 



Love of rural life 

Sympathies with rural pupils 

A better understanding of rural life and pupils 

Fitted by experience for rural school work 

More independence and freedom in a rural school 

Preference for rural schools 

The work is more interesting 

A greater field for service 

A better opportunity for nature study 

A better opportunity to take part in community affairs 

" Satisfied with rural schools " 

The possibilities for the future promise to be great .... 

A better opportunity to know the pupils 

The rural schools need trained teachers 

More money can be saved 

Can live at home . . . ' 

More healthful in the country 

Total 



NO. OF 

TEACHERS 

GIVING 

THEM 



20 
6 

5 
4 
4 
4 
3 
3 
3 
2 
2 



63 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



81 



Some of the 44 teachers gave more than one reason, which fact 
accounts for 63 reasons being reported. The only outstanding 
reason given is the first — "love of rural life" — which is 32 per 
cent of all. 

The question was asked, " What kind of position do you seek 
as an advancement? " The answers given to this question by 
those who would choose a grade position in a union school follow : 



Table 36 

Kind of position sought as an advancement by those who prefer a union school 

position 



NO. OF 

TEACHERS 



Grade teacher , 

Teacher in the lower grades , 

High school teacher 

Teacher in the higher grades 

Teacher in the intermediate grades 

Commercial teacher , 

Kindergarten teacher 

Principal 

Training class teacher , 

Specialized work 

One grade to a room , 

Teacher of homemaking 

Principal of elementary school 

Physical training teacher , 

Preceptress of a high school 

Teacher in a private school 

Departmental work in the grades . . 

Position in town 

No decision 

No answer 

Total 



25 
14 
10 

7 
7 
6 

5 
2 
2 
2 
2 



4 
24 



117 



In answer to the question why they would choose such positions, 
41 teachers said it was the position in which they were interested 
or for which they were adapted; 3 said it was the position they were 
trained for; 2 said they preferred to teach older pupils; 1 said the 
environment is better; 1 said it is a better position; another that the 
work is easier; and the remaining 40 failed to give a reason. 

Those who said that they would prefer rural school work to grade 
work in a union school gave the following answers to the question, 
" What position do you seek as an advancement? " 



82 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 37 

Kind of position sought as an advancement by those who prefer a rural school 

position 



NO. OF 
TEACHERS 



High school teacher 

Principal of a high school 

Physical training teacher 

Business 

Teacher in a consolidated rural school 

Drawing teacher 

Primary teacher in a two-department school 

Teacher of homemaking 

District superintendent 

Large rural school 

First grade work 

Higher grade work 

Teacher of one grade 

No answer 

Total 



23 



44 



The reason for the choice given by 10 was " interest in rural 
school work." One said a principalship is more satisfactory, another 
that a consolidated rural school teacher would have fewer grades 
to teach, another that the salary for high school work is higher, and 
the remaining 10 gave no reason for the choice. 

It is interesting to note that not more than 8 of the 23 teachers 
answering the question seek what may be termed a rural position. 
What the others seek are really village or city positions. 

It may be safely concluded from these facts that the rural teacher 
is not content to remain in the rural school but seeks a position 
in the union schools or in the city schools. If she is ambitious 
and has ability she will ultimately find her place there; if not, she 
remains in the rural schools. 



Conclusions and Recommendations 

The rural school teachers in Livingston county receive lower 
salaries and are less experienced than the union school grade teachers. 
As long as they remain in the rural schools they have practically 
no promise of much advancement either in position or in salary 
with the result that there is very little, if any, incentive for ambitious 
and successful teachers to remain in these schools. The rural 
teacher has many grades to teach with very few pupils in a grade. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 83 

The requirements for certification to teach in a rural school both 
as to education and professional training are lower than those to 
teach in the grades of a union school. This fact means that as 
a whole the education and the professional training of the rural 
teachers are inferior to those of the union school grade teacher. 
The inevitable result is that the rural school position is regarded 
by the teachers as inferior to the grade position in a union school. 
The child living in the town of West Sparta or Ossian or Sparta 
or Portage is entitled to as good instruction as the child living 
in the village of Avon or the village of Mount Morris or the village 
of Dansville. It is only fair to the former to require that his teacher 
be as well educated, as well trained, and as successful as the teacher 
of the latter. With this fact in mind the following suggestions 
are made. 

1 The common school district unit stands in the way of providing 
better supervision and administration of rural schools and should 
give way to the town unit or the county unit in the control of a board 
of education. 

2 The district superintendents of schools should be given powers 
similar to those of a village or city superintendent of schools and 
they should be provided with sufficient help to enable them to give 
their schools very close supervision. 

3 No teacher should be hired for a rural school position without 
the recommendation of the district superintendent of schools. 

4 A salary schedule should be established for the rural schools 
with a minimum salary and a maximum salary comparable with 
the schedules in the best village schools. Such a schedule should 
provide for a definite yearly increase in salary to make it an incentive 
for a teacher to remain in the same school for a long period of years. 

5 The chief complaint of the rural school teacher is that she has 
too many grades to teach. This may be overcome in many cases 
through consolidation of school districts. There are in the county 
many pairs of districts which might well be consolidated, many 
trios, and in some cases four or five districts which might well be 
consolidated and the pupils be transported to a central school. 
District 7 of the town of York is an excellent example of voluntary 
consolidation and the results are most satisfactory. Kansas, 
Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota and several other states 
afford many illustrations of successful consolidation of rural schools. 
In very many cases the present districts could not be consolidated 
advantageously. This is particularly true of the southern end of 



84 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

the county where the land surface is much broken by ravines and 
hills and where the roads in certain seasons are very bad. 

6 The educational and professional requirements for rural teachers 
should be on par with those of the best village schools. 

7 The rural school presents problems distinct from those of the 
village and the city school. It is a distinct type of school which 
demands specially prepared teachers. It is a mistake to think 
those who are prepared for village and city schools are prepared for 
rural schools. The teacher should be made familiar with rural life 
and be trained to become a community leader. She should know the 
rural child and have a general idea of the mind content of such 
children. She should be prepared to promote the home project 
method of teaching agriculture and homemaking. She should have 
a rigorous course in rural school hygiene, sanitation and manage- 
ment. She should be trained to give instruction in physical training 
and to supervise play and recreational work. In addition to these 
she should be trained in psychology, and in methods of instruction, 
and should have practice teaching in a rural school. The rural school 
teacher, therefore, should have a distinct type of training for her 
work. 

8 To carry out these suggestions would involve necessarily 
additional expense. The rural communities may well increase their 
budgets to meet a part of this expense. The State may well afford 
to meet a larger part of it. And since the rural school problem is 
nationwide and since its solution is essential to the best interests 
of the Nation, there are sufficient grounds to justify the national 
government to aid the states financially in its solution. The pre- 
cedent has been set by the enactment of the Smith-Hughes act which 
gives very substantial aid to industrial and agricultural education 
throughout the Nation. 

9 The qualifications required of a principal of a union school, 
should include training in the methods of teaching the elementary 
school subjects, and in the supervision of the elementary school work. 
In lieu of such training, successful experience as a supervisor of 
elementary school work might be accepted. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 85 

TEE TEACHING CORPS — THE SECONDARY TEACHERS 

Introduction 

In Livingston county, secondary school instruction is given in the 
twelve union schools, the Geneseo State Normal School, and the 
Genesee Wesleyan Seminary. Only the work of the union schools 
is included in this chapter. The departments in which secondary 
school instruction is given in the New York State union schools are 
commonly called academic departments. These are grouped in 
four grades. The lowest is called an academic school of junior 
grade which is limited to two years of secondary school work. The 
next is called an academic school of middle grade which may not 
offer more than three years of secondary school work. The third is 
called an academic school of senior grade which may give four years 
of secondary school work. The highest grade is the high school. 
Although these departments are termed academic they may also offer 
commercial and vocational courses. One of the twelve union schools 
in Livingston county has an academic department of middle grade, 
four have academic departments of senior grade, and seven have 
academic departments of high school grade. When speaking of the 
secondary school work the distinction is commonly made between the 
first five and the last seven by calling the former union schools and the 
latter high schools. A comparison will be made in this study between 
the union school faculties and the high school faculties. Ten of 
the 38 high school teachers and 4 of the union school teachers 
teach some of the higher elementary school grade work in addition 
to secondary school subjects. 

The material for this chapter was gathered through the use of 
questionnaires. A meeting of all the principals of the public second- 
ary schools was called at Geneseo, November 23, 19 17. To these 
principals were delivered questionnaires for their teachers of secondary 
and vocational subjects and for themselves. The questionnaire was 
carefully explained to them and they in turn explained it to their 
teachers and aided them in making their answers. 

Ten of the 14 teachers of physical training in the public schools of 
the county were present at the conference of teachers held by the 
district superintendents at Geneseo the same day. These teachers 
were asked to answer a questionnaire under the supervision of the 
district superintendents. 

The Principals 

The following table gives the salaries of the union and high school 
principals : 



86 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 38 
Salaries of union and high school principals 



UNION SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 


HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 


No. of 
principals 


Salary 


Years 

of 
exper- 
ience 


Years 

in 
present 
position 


No. of 

principals 


Salary 


Years 

of 
exper- 
ience 


Years 

in 
present 
position 




C$850 
1000 
1000 
1 150 
1550 


1 

4 
3 
4 
16 


None 
1 
3 
4 
4 




$1300 
1400 
1600 
1600 
1700 

1750 
2100 


10 

13 

9 

4 

6 

II 

12 


4 




None 




None 




2 




None 




11 






6 









a This principal is a woman. All others are men. 



This table is read as follows: one union school principal receives 
a salary of $850, has had one-half of a year of experience, and has 
held her present position since September 191 7; one high school 
principal received a salary of $1300, has had 10 years of experience, 
and has held his present position 4 years. 

The high school principals as a whole receive larger salaries and 
are more experienced than the union school principals, though there 
are more new principals among the former group than among the 
latter. 

The ages of the principals of the union and the high schools are 
as follows : 

Table 39 
Ages of the principals 



UNION SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 


HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 


No. of principals 


Age 


No. of principals 


Age 




24 
26 

27 
29 
35 


1 


'27 






28 




1 


30 






35 






47 









LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 87 

All the union school principals are teaching six secondary sub- 
jects each day. Four of the union schools have eight periods a day 
and one has seven. These facts mean that the union school prin- 
cipals have in four cases two periods for supervision and adminis- 
trative work, and in one case only one period. Under such circum- 
stances it is very difficult for these principals to supervise properly 
the teaching in their schools. Three high school principals have to 
teach two periods daily, three have to teach three periods daily, and 
one four periods daily. All but one of the schools have seven periods 
a day. These principals are afforded ample time for supervision and 
administrative work. 

Four of the union school principals are college graduates, one of 
whom is also a graduate of a normal school. The fifth union school 
principal is a graduate of a training class and has earned a state life 
certificate by passing some twenty rigorous examinations which 
cover the secondary school curriculum and courses in school law, 
school management, methods of teaching, and history of education 
or , psychology. None of the principals has taken summer school 
courses. since they have been graduated from college or training class. 

One high school principal is a graduate of a normal school, two of 
a college, one of a normal school and a college, one of a college with 
considerable credit earned in summer courses toward a master's 
degree, one of a college with both a bachelor's and a master's degree, 
and one of a normal school and a college with both a bachelor's 
and a master's degree. 

The certificates to teach held by the union school principals are : 

State life certificate 1 principal 

Normal school professional diploma 1 principal 

College graduate limited 1 principal 

College graduate professional permanent 2 principals 

Those held by the high school principals are : 

Normal school diploma 1 principal 

College graduate permanent 1 principal 

College graduate professional permanent 5 principals 

The college graduate limited certificate is granted to those who 
have been graduated from college without completing the course in 
professional training prescribed by the State for a professional 
license. When the holder has had three years of successful experience 
and has passed certain professional examinations, he is granted a 
college graduate life certificate. The college graduate professional 
provisional certificate is granted to college graduates who have com- 
pleted the course in professional training prescribed by the State. 



■88 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



After three years of successful experience the holder is granted a 
college graduate professional permanent certificate. 

All these facts may be summed up by saying that as a whole the 
high school principals are higher salaried and more experienced, 
have had more professional training and have more time available 
for supervising the work of their schools than have the union school 
principals. It may also be said that the union school principal has 
a heavier teaching schedule than has the average high school teacher. 



The Secondary School Teachers 

Salaries 
The salaries of the union and the high school teachers are shown 



in this table: 



Table 40 
Salaries of the secondary school teachers 



SALARIES 



M5o 

500 

550 

560 

575 

600 

620 

650 

675 

700 

725 

750 

775 

800 

850 

1200 

Total 

Median. . 



UNION 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 



HIGH 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 



4 
3 
I 

6 
3 
7 
3 
3 
1 
1 
1 
01 



38 



$675 



45 



a Male science teacher. 

This table is read as follows: one high school teacher receives a 
salary of $450, one union school teacher and one high school teacher 
receive a salary of $500, etc. The median salary of the union school 
teachers is $600 and that of the high school teachers is $675. It is 
not to the credit of a high school to pay one of its teachers $450. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



8 9 



The amounts the teachers pay for board and room are given by 39 
teachers. 

Table 41 
Amounts paid for board and room 



AMOUNT PAID WEEKLY 



UNION 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 



HIGH 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 



TOTAL 



25- 

5°- 



25- 

50. 



25. 

50. 

75- 



No answer. 
Total. 
Median. . . 



38 



$6 50 



45 
50 



The median amount paid by the union school teachers for board 
and room is $5 a week and that paid by the high school teachers is 
$6.50 a week. The yearly cost of living on these bases is $260 for the 
union school teachers and $338 for the high school teachers. Since 
the median salary a year for the former is $600, the median amount 
left after the cost of board and room is deducted is $340. For the high 
school teachers the median annual salary is $675. Deducting the 
median annual amount paid for board and room $337 remains. 
The union school teachers, therefore, are better off financially at the 
end of the year than the high school teachers. 

The average annual salary received by the women teachers in 
each of the union and high schools was computed and from these 
averages was subtracted the average annual amount paid for board 
and room. This average annual board and room bill was derived 
by multiplying the average of the teachers' weekly board and room 
bills by 52. The results follow: 



90 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 42 

Average net salary received by women teachers after their board and room 
expenses have been met 



Groveland Union. . . 
Mount Morris High . 
Greigsville High .... 
Caledonia High .... 

Avon High 

Dansville High 

Springwater Union . . 
Hemlock Union .... 

Nunda High 

Dalton Union 

Livonia High 

Moscow Union 







AVERAGE 








BOARD 




NO. OF 


AVERAGE 


AND 

ROOM 


NET 


TEACHERS 


SALARY 


SALARY 






EXPENSE 




I 


$750 .. 


$260 . . 


$490 . . 


6 


741 66 


360 90 


380 76 


4 


631 25 


260 . . 


371 25 


4 


681 25 


325 •• 


356 25 


5 


700 . . 


344 •• 


356 .. 


7 


710 72 


379 16 


331 56 


2 


580 .. 


260 . . 


320 .. 


2 


575 •• 


260 . . 


315 ■■ 


5 


604 . . 


315 25 


288 75 


2 


550 -. 


286 .. 


264 . . 


6 


545 83 


329 33 


216 50 


no report 









The Groveland Union School and the Mount Morris High School 
are commended for the salaries they are paying their teachers. 
These schools, however, have begun to pay these high salaries only 
recently. 

Experience and Tenure 

The following tables show the number of years' experience the 
union and high school teachers have had and the number of years 
they have held their present positions. 



Table 43 
Experience of the teachers 



YEARS EXPERIENCE 



No experience. 

1 year 

2 years 

3 years 

4 years 

5 years 

6 years 

7 years 

8 years 

9 years 

12 years 

16 years 

18 years 

Total 

Median 



UNION SCHOOL 
TEACHERS 



No. 



Per 

cent 

43 
H 
14 



14 



14 



1 year 



HIGH SCHOOL 
TEACHERS 



No. 



Per 

cent 

29 
11 
16 
11 

3 

8 

3 
5 
3 
5 
3 
3 
3 



J8 

2 years 



TOTAL 



14 
5 
7 
4 
1 

4 
1 
2 
I 
2 
2 
I 
I 

"45 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



91 



This table is read as follows: 3, or 43 per cent, of the union school 
teachers and 11, or 29 per cent, of the high school teachers have had 
no experience as teachers previous to the year the data for this study 
were gathered; and so on. 



Table 44 
Tenure of the teachers 



YEAR IN PRESENT POSITION 


UNION SCHOOL 
TEACHERS 


HIGH SCHOOL 
TEACHERS 


TOTAL 


No. 


Per 
cent 


No. 


Per 
cent 


First 


5 
2 


7i 
29 


20 
IO 

3 
1 
1 
1 

2 


53 
26 
8 
3 
3 
3 
5 


25 
10 


Second 


Third 


5 
1 


Fifth 


Sixth 


1 


Seventh 




1 


Eighth 


2 






Total 


7 




38 




45 




Median 


First year 


Secon 


d vear 


First 






year 



This table is read as follows: 5, or 71 per cent, of the union school 
teachers and 20, or 53 per cent, of the high school teachers were teach" 
ing their first year in their present positions when the data for this 
study were gathered; and so on. 

Although the union school teachers as a whole receive larger 
salaries than the high school teachers, yet the median amount of 
experience of these teachers is only one year and that of the high 
school teacher is two years. In both types of schools about 75 per 
cent of the teachers are just beginning their first or second year in 
their present positions. The union schools to a large degree and the 
high schools to a lesser degree are schools in which young graduates 
" win their spurs " and after winning them they secure positions 
in schools paying larger salaries. 



Teachers Employed in Their Home Districts 
None of the union school teachers and 3, or 8 per cent, of the high 
school teachers are teaching in their home districts. It will be 
recalled that 31 per cent of the grade teachers in these schools live 



92 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



in their home districts. This wide difference is probably due to the 
facts that the boards of education hesitate to have young home 
teachers in charge of the older pupils; that the salaries paid are not 
high enough to attract the experienced and successful teachers to 
their home schools; and that a relatively small number of the young 
women in the various communities qualify for academic positions. 
Perhaps a cause of this last fact is that the secondary teacher has to 
spend two years more in completing her preparation to teach than 
the grade teacher, yet her net salary is approximately only $46 
more. In this connection it must be remembered that the cost a 
year for a college education is considerably more than the cost a year 
for a normal school education. 

The distribution of the academic teachers according to their 
home counties (determined by the preparatory schools which they 
attended) shows that 26 counties and 2 states other than New York 
are represented by them. 



Distribution of Teachers According to Their Ages 
The following table shows the ages of the union and the high 
school teachers: 

Table 45 
Ages of the teachers 



21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

32 

34 

37 

54 

No answer . 

Total. 

Median. . . . 



AGE 



UNION 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 



23 yrs. 



HIGH 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 



I 

5 
8 

7 
1 

4 
4 
1 
1 
2 

1 
1 

1 
1 

3«_ 

24 yrs. 



TOTAL 



2 

7 
IO 

7 
1 

5 
4 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

45 

24 yrs. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



93 



The median age of the union school teachers is 23 years and that 
of the high school teachers is 24 years. The former is less than the 
median age of either the rural or the union school grade teachers. 

Hiring of the Teachers 
In all cases the boards of education in both the union and the high 
schools expect the principals to pass upon the candidate's quali- 
fications before she is elected to a position in their schools. For this 
they are to be commended. 



Length of the School Day 
The length of the school day and the number of class periods a 
day for the union and high schools are shown in the table 46. The 
time taken for opening exercises, recess periods, passing to and from 
classes, and physical training is included in the length of the school 
day. In Mount Morris and Dansville seven periods are devoted to 
classroom work and the eighth to physical training, which is given 
in their gymnasiums. No class period is less than 40 minutes in 
length. 

Table 46 
Length of the school day and number of class periods into which it is divided 

Union schools 



SCHOOL 


TIME OF 
OPENING 


TIME OF 
CLOSING 


LENGTH 

OF NOON 
HOUR 


NO. OF 

MIN. IN 

SCHOOL 

DAY 


NO. OF 

CLASS 

PERIODS 


Dalton 


9 
9 

9 

8.55 

9 


3-40 

4 

3-40 

3-30 

4 


70 
70 
60 

75 
60 


330 
350 

340 
320 
360 


8 


Groveland 


8 


Hemlock 


8 


Moscow 


7 




8 



Avon ......... 

Caledonia 

Dansville 

Greigsville. . . . 

Livonia 

Mount Morris. 
Nunda 



9 

9 

8-45 

9 

9 

9 

9 



High schools 

3-45 

3-3° 

4 

3 

3-30 

3-45 

3-30 



90 


315 


75 


315 


80 


355 


60 


300 


75 


315 


70 


335 


75 


315 



94 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Number of Classes Taught by the Teachers 
The following table shows how many classes each of the teachers 
instruct in the union and the high schools. Study hall supervision is 
not included as classes taught. 



Table 47 
Number of classes taught by the teachers 



NUMBER OF CLASSES A DAY 


NO. OF 

UNION 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 


NO. OF 

HIGH 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 


TOTAL 






5 
15 
12 

5 
1 


5 






15 


6 


I 

4 
1 

1 


l 3 




4 


8 


I 


Music and drawing throughout the school. . . 
Two elementary grades and two other classes. 


5 
1 
1 








Total 


7 


38 


45 








7 classes 


5 classes 


6 classes 







The median number of classes taught each day of school by the 
union school teachers is 7 and by the high school teachers is 5. It is 
the tendency for the union schools to divide the school day into 
8 periods and for the high schools to divide it into 7. This means 
that as a rule the union school teacher has a longer school day, has 
more classes to teach, and has one less free period a day than the 
high school teacher. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



95 



Size of the Classes 
The size of each of 42 union school classes and 166 high school 
classes is shown in the following table : 

Table 48 
Size of the classes 



NO. IN THE CLASS 



UNION 
SCHOOL 
CLASSES 



HIGH 
SCHOOL 
CLASSES 



I or 2 . . 

3 or 4 . . 

5 or 6. . 

7 or 8 . , 

9 or 10. 
11 or 12. 
13 or 14. 
15 or 16. 
17 or 18. 
19 or 20. 
21 or 22. 
23 or 24. 
25 or 26. 
27 or 28. 
29 or 30. 
31 or 32. 

Total... 



10 

20 

11 

17 

19 

14 

12 

8 

7 

9 

9 

8 

6 

4 

4 



42 



166 



15 

29 
17 
24 
23 
H 
14 



10 

9 
8 
6 
4 
4 



209 



Median . 



7 or 8 m a 

class 



11 or 12 ma 

class 



11 or 12 in a 
class 



The median size of the union school classes is 7 or 8 and of the high 
school classes is 11 or 12. Fourteen per cent of the union school 
classes and 5 per cent of the high school classes have less than 3 
pupils in attendance. The union school classes which number less 
than 3 pupils are intei mediate algebra, Latin third year (both taught 
in a school limited to three years of academic work), German third 
year, English third year, German first year and elementary repre- 
sentation. The high school classes which number less than 3 are 
two classes in Latin fourth year, two in German second year, one in 
shorthand second year, one in mechanical drawing, one in inter- 
mediate drawing and one in third year high school drawing. 

Diversity of the Teachers' Work 
In the high schools there is a distinct tendency to restrict a teacher's 
program to two departments of work such as mathematics and science, 



g6 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

or English and history, or a modern language and Latin, etc. Of 
the 45 high school teachers (including the principals) only 9 teach 
in three departments. All the others teach in one or two depart- 
ments. Of the 7 union school teachers who spend three-fourths 
or more of their time teaching academic subjects and the 4 union 
school principals, 1 teaches in two departments, 5 in three depart- 
ments, and s in four departments. The daily programs of two 
union school teachers follow: 

English 1 8 pupils Latin 1 6 pupil s 

English 2 6 pupils Latin 2 6 pupils 

English 3 I pupil German 1 5 pupils 

English 4 3 pupils Elem. design 15 pupils 

Commercial arith 15 pupils German 1 2 pupils 

English 2 8 pupils German 2 9 pupils 

English 3 9 pupils English history 9 pupils 

English 4 5 pupils 

The teacher who has the first of these two programs has had 
twelve years' experience and is a graduate of a normal school. The 
teacher who has the second is an inexperienced college graduate. 

The two heaviest and most diversified individual teacher's pro- 
grams in the high schools follow: 

American history 

German 1 

German 2 (two classes) 

German 3 

Latin fourth year 

The number of pupils in each class was not reported. 

Ancient history (two classes) 36 pupils 

Biology ( two classes) 40 pupils 

German 1 25 pupils 

German 2 12 puplis 

Both of these programs belong to experienced teachers who have 
had college work in the subjects taught. 

One union school has a faculty, including the principal, of 5 
teachers. In this school 8 years of elementary school work and 4 of 
secondary school work are taught. One of the 5 teachers devotes 
her entire time to the first three grades; another teaches the fourth, 
fifth and sixth grades and in addition a class of 22 in business writing; 
a third teaches the seventh and eighth grades and in addition a class 
of 10 in first year high school English and a class of 19 in book- 
keeping. This school is located less than 3 miles from a high school. 
Between the two schools is an improved macadam road over which 
runs an omnibus daily. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



97 



Another union school, which is restricted by its charter from 
the University of the State of New York to teach not more than 
three years of academic work, is teaching classes in each of the four 
years of high school English, three years of history, two years of 
science, two years of German, three years of mathematics and three 
years of Latin. 

The Teachers' Education 

Four, or 57 per cent, of the union school teachers and 28, or 
74 per cent, of the high school teachers are college graduates. Five 
others of the high school teachers have had some collegiate training. 
The remaining 3, or 43 per cent, of the union school teachers and 5, 
or 13 per cent, of the high school teachers have had no instruction 
beyond that given in the normal schools. 



Table 49 
The teachers' education 



EDUCATION 


UNION 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 


HIGH 
SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 


TOTAL 


High school 




I 

3 
4 
1 
1 

27 
1 


I 


High school and normal 


3 


6 


High school, normal, and part college 


4 

1 


Normal school 




High school, training class and college 




1 


High school and college 

Part high school, part normal, part college .... 


4 


31 
1 


Total 


7 


38 


45 





The normal schools and the colleges from which the union and 
the high school teachers were graduated are as follows : 

4 



98 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 50 
Normal schools and colleges from which the teachers were graduated 



SCHOOL OR COLLEGE 



NO. OF 

TEACHERS 



Geneseo State Normal School 

Plattsburg State Normal School ... . 

Brockport State Normal School 

University of Rochester 

Syracuse University 

Cornell University 

Elmira College 

Smith College 

St Lawrence University 

Alfred University 

New York State College for Teachers 

Teachers' College 

Mount Holyoke College 

University of Michigan 

Hunter College 

Pamona College 

Kalamazoo College 

■Graduates of neither 

Total 



45 



Professional Periodicals Read 
All the teachers in the Dalton, Hemlock, Moscow and Springwater 
Union Schools, and in the Dansville, Greigsville, Mount Morris and 
Nunda High Schools read at least one professional magazine. One 
teacher in each of the remaining schools does not read such a magazine. 
In almost every case the teacher reads a periodical that deals 
specifically with at least some of the subjects she teaches. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



99 



Teachers 1 Certification 
The certificates to teach held by the teachers are shown in the 
following table. 

Table 51 
Certification of the teachers 



CERTIFICATE 


UNION 

SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 


HIGH 
SCHOOL 

TEACHERS 


TOTAL 


First grade 





I 
I 
I 
I 

6 

I 

6 

15 
2 

4 


I 


Temporary for music and drawing 


I 


Normal school — special music and drawing . . . 
Normal school — special commercial 




I 
I 


Normal school diploma 


3 


6 


Special music certificate — college and tem- 
porary for Eng 


I 


College graduate limited 


1 

3 


7 


College graduate professional provisional 

College graduate life 


18 
2 


College graduate professional permanent 




4 


Total '. 


7 


38 


45 







Thirty-seven, or 82 per cent, of the union and the high school 
teachers have had some form of professional training as far as their 
certification shows. If the 7 teachers who are holding college gradu- 
ate limited certificates intend to continue teaching they are 
undoubtedly making preparation for the professional examinations 
which they must pass in order that they may receive a life certificate. 

The Range of Subjects the Certificates License the Holders to Teach 
The holder of a special license is permitted to teach only the 
special subject covered by it; but the holders of normal school 
diplomas, 1 and college graduate certificates may teach any secondary 
school subject taught in the union or the high schools, regardless 
of whether they have ever studied the subject or not. This " blanket 
form " of license is the cause of much poor teaching. The form of 
contract most generally used makes no mention of the subjects to 
be taught by the teacher. The result is that teachers are often 
required to teach subjects of which they have a very meager 
knowledge and in which they have little or no interest. 

1 Limited to elementary "grades in 1018. 



IOO 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Undesirable effects of the " blanket form " of certificate are ■ 
felt in Livingston county. To show these effects each of the teachers 
(including the principals) who are college graduates and who teach 
secondary subjects were asked in what three departments of study 
they have the largest number of hours of collegiate credit. Thirty- 
five gave this information very completely. A comparison of the 
departments named by each with the program of classes taught 
by her reveals the fact that 15 are teaching subjects which do not 
belong to one of the three departments in which they specialized. 
An illustration will make this clear. One young lady specialized 
in the biological sciences, English and Latin. She is teaching 
American and ancient history, neither of which subjects she studied 
in college. Another case is that of a union school teacher who 
specialized in history, economics and English. She is teaching 
geometry, Latin, German and French. She has had no instruction 
in German save in her high school preparatory course. Five other 
teachers in the county teach subjects in which they have had no 
instruction beyond that received in their high school preparatory 
course. 

A table follows which shows the departments in which 1 5 teachers 
specialized and the subjects they teach which do not belong to these 
departments. ■ 

Departments in which teachers special- 
ized^in college 

History, German, English 
Greek, Latin, German 
German, history, sociology 

French, German, biological science 
Biology, English, Latin 
German, French, mathematics 
History, zoology, botany 
German, Latin. English 

Greek, Latin, philosophy 
German, history, English 
Sociology, biology, German 
History, German, mathematics 
History, economics, English 
History, mathematics, Latin 
Science, mathematics 



Subjects taught which are not included 
in those departments 

Biology 

English, history 

Business arithmetic, English, English 

history 
Modern history 

Ancient history, American history 
English 1, 2, 3, 4 
Algebra, geometry 
Elem. typewriting, adv. bookkeeping,. 

elem. and adv. shorthand x 
Algebra 
Latin 4 
Physics 
Physics 

Geometry, Latin, German, French 
Physics 
Latin 1 



1 She has had summer courses in these subjects in 191 7 and teaches them on her college graduate 
certificate. 

This table is read as follows: one teacher who specialized in 
history, German and English in the order named is teaching biology; 
another who specialized in Greek, Latin and German in the order 
named is teaching English and history; and so on. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY IOI 

Four of the 15 teachers are teaching in the union schools and 
12 are teaching in the high schools. With the small teaching force 
and the large number of different subjects to be taught, one might 
expect worse conditions in the union schools, but in the high schools 
with their larger faculties better conditions should exist. 

The State Department of Education recognizes the difficulties 
presented by the " blanket license." In the field of modern languages 
a plan of " approving " teachers has been in operation for some 
years. If a teacher holds a master of arts degree for which she 
specialized in a modern language she is " approved " without 
examination as a teacher of that language. Others are " approved " 
as teachers of a modern language who have passed rigid written and 
oral examinations in it. 

Of the 13 union and high school teachers of modern languages 
in Livingston county, only 3 are " approved " teachers. One of 
these has only a temporary approval. The pupils who study under 
an " approved " teacher are not required to take the full Regents 
examination in that language. 

Vocational Teachers 

Two high schools have vocational departments of agriculture and 
household arts. The four teachers in charge of this work are gradu- 
ates of the State College of Agriculture at Cornell University and 
in all but one case they have had special courses in rural education. 
One of the two men receives a salary of $1200 and the other one 
of Si 400. They are under contract for twelve months each year. 

Of their salaries the State pays $200 for the two summer months 
and two-thirds of the remainder. The summer months are spent 
in inspecting the projects of the pupils, and in gathering material 
for the coming year's work. One of the two teachers of household 
arts receives a salary of $600 and the other one of $700. Of these 
the State pays one-third. These teachers are employed for ten 
months each year. 

One of the men came to his present position with two years of 
experience as a rural school teacher. All of the teachers have 
lived on a farm and have had actual experience in farm duties. 

The licenses held by these are the special vocational certificates 
which permit them to teach only the work in which they have 
specialized. 

Physical Training Teachers 

Of the 14 teachers of physical training, data were secured 
for only 10. Of these 10 teachers, 1 received $1350, 5 received 



102 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

$1200, i received $1150, 1 received $1100, and 1 received $1000. 
One teacher made no answer. Of these salaries the State pays 
one-half. 

Three of the teachers are men. Each of two has charge of the 
work in both a high school and a union school, and the third has 
the work in one high school. Of the 7 women, 4 have charge of the 
instruction in physical training in both a union or a high school 
and some rural schools; the other 3 teach in rural schools only. 

Although these teachers receive comparatively large salaries, yet 
those who teach in rural schools are put to heavy expense in traveling 
from school to school. When the data were collected the teachers 
had not had long enough experience in their present positions to 
be able to give accurately the amounts of such expense. 

All but two of these teachers are graduates of a high school. One 
is a graduate of the Springfield Y. M. C. A. College of Physical 
Education, 6 are graduates of normal school courses in physical 
education, and 3 have not completed the requirements for graduation 
from any course in physical education. Of these 3, 2 have had 
one summer of physical training instruction in college, and the third 
has had no such instruction at all. 

Seven of the 10 teachers have special licenses to teach physical 
training and 3 have temporary licenses. This special form of license 
permits these teachers to teach only physical training. 

Six of these teachers have had from one-half a year to 2 years' 
experience as a teacher. The other 4 have had no experience. 

Conclusions 

A large majority of the secondary school teachers in Livingston 
county are college graduates. The annual cost of a college education 
is considerably more than the annual cost of a normal school edu- 
cation, and the time required to complete a college course is twice 
that required to complete a normal school course. Yet the high 
schools pay their secondary teachers a net median salary that is ' 
only $46 more than the net median salary paid the grade teachers 
in the union schools. 1 The union schools pay a net salary to their 
secondary teachers that is $3 more than the net salary paid by 
the high schools. Neither the union nor the high schools are paying 
salaries high enough to retain the teachers, as is shown by the facts 
that about 75 per cent of the teachers are beginning either their first 

1 The term " union schools " in this sentence includes all public schools main- 
taining secondary departments. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY IO3 

or second year of service in the schools in which they are now teaching. 
The median age of their teachers is about the same as that of the grade 
teachers, in spite of the fact that they were required to spend two 
more years to complete their education than were the grade teachers. 
The union and the high schools of Livingston county are really 
schools in which inexperienced teachers gain the experience required 
of them before they can secure positions in the high schools which 
pay higher salaries. 

The union school teachers are required to teach a median number 
of seven classes a day, and these cover a very wide range of subjects. 
The " blanket license " granted to the graduates of colleges and 
normal schools makes it possible for a teacher to conduct classes in 
many different subjects, in some of which she may have but little 
knowledge. The high school teachers teach a median number of 
five classes a day and in almost all the cases these classes are in 
different subjects. 

With these facts in mind, the following suggestions are offered: 

1 The boards of education should increase their salary schedules 
for secondary teachers so that they will attract the best inexperienced 
teachers or, better, teachers who have had successful experience. 

2 The principals should use a great deal of care to recommend 
teachers who have had intensive training in the subjects they are 
expected to teach. 

3 With the amount of teaching force available the union schools 
are evidently trying to cover too much ground. One of two things 
ought to be done : either the teaching force should be increased in the 
union schools, or else the number of years of work should be de- 
creased. It is questionable whether the first of these is advisable 
when the number of pupils who are given secondary instruction in 
these schools is taken into consideration. The second course would 
probably seem to the communities supporting these union schools 
to be out of the question at the first thought, for they pride them- 
selves upon providing their children with the opportunity of securing 
a secondary school education. This is a most worthy ambition 
and in many cases these communities have taxed themselves heavily 
to pursue it. But the question that these people should consider 
is whether or not they are doing the best thing for their children 
in providing for them such an extensive course of instruction that 
it can not be covered successfully. 

The state of Vermont is attacking this problem of the small 
secondary school by forming what are called junior high, schools 
which offer 10 years of school work. These schools have six grades 



104 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

and a four year junior high school. This junior high school work 
covers that of the seventh and eighth grades and the first two years 
of the secondary school. The principal is usually a vocational 
teacher of agriculture and one of the other teachers is trained to 
give vocational instruction in the household arts. In addition 
to the vocational subjects instruction is given in English, algebra 
geometry, a science, a history and a foreign language. The children 
attending these schools, therefore, may take vocational work, or 
begin a course that prepares them for college, normal school, or 
other institutions of higher learning. Such a plan might be carried 
out in Livingston county. 

4 The " blanket form " of license to teach is a cause of considerable 
poor instruction in Livingston county. Conditions will be very 
much improved when this form of license is no longer issued. A 
license should permit the holder to teach only those subjects in which 
she has specialized. 

If this can not be done, an extension of the plan of " approving " 
teachers in the subjects in which they have specialized would probably 
help to improve conditions. If this plan were followed, it would 
seem advisable to make " approved " teachers desirable in the eyes 
of the boards of education, either by allowing such teachers a larger 
quota of public money or else by accepting certification of the work 
done by pupils under the direction of such teachers in lieu of the 
state examinations. 

It would help improve conditions very materially if the teachers 
of secondary subjects were trained to present the subjects to the 
boys and girls of high school age. Dean Russell writes in the Regents 
Report for the year 1899: 

Graduates of colleges and normal schools alike must fail in technical skill if 
they teach as they have been taught. The work of the secondary school is unique. 
It requires' an arrangement and presentation of the subject matter of instruction 
in a way unknown in elementary education and unheeded in most college teach- 
ing; it requires tact, judgment and disciplinary powers peculiar to the manage- 
ment of youth. Herein is the need of that technical skill which is not, as has been 
well said, " a part of the natural equipment of every educated person! " 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



105 



Table 52 
Distribution of all the rural children in group E by age and grade 



GRADE 






m 








(4 


u 




a 


« 


09 


co 
















u 


U 


u 












0) 














a 
































<u 




CD 


CD 


CD 


>, 


>» 


>> 


>> 


>> 


>> 


>, 




>, 










>> 


>> 


>. 


>. 









CO 




I/} 












■* 


10 . 




t^ 


00 
























First 


5 


55 

1 


124 


102 
92 

41 


63 


25 

58 


I 

28 

57 


2 

3 

24 


2 

1 
7 


I 
4 


1 


3 


I 






384 












28 
7 


85 
69 


297 






3 




I 








Third 


90 
















Fourth 












67 


6^ 


5fi 




16 












254 




































Fifth 












25 


68 


70 


65 


38 


24 


6 


































Sixth 














28 


58 


53 


39 


28 




5 
















































5 


35 


47 


67 


46 


26 


4 


3 


























Eighth 
















4 


10 


39 


45 


36 


6 


6 


2 


148 




















Total 


s 


56 


1 59 


241 


242 


267 


249 


252 


204 


204 


154 


93 


18 


10 


3 


2157 



Table 53 
Distribution of all the union school children in group E by age and grade 



GRADE 


1- 

Ct) 
CD 
>< 


OS 
1/1 


CO 

u 
nJ 

>> 


Cfl 
IH 

ca 

CD 
>, 


u 
CS 

>> 

CO 


cS 
CD 
>> 
Ov 


CD 
>» 
O 




u 
cs 

CD 
>> 
CM 


u 

a 

>> 


at 

CD 


CO 
CCj 

>> 

10 


CO 

t-l 

a 

CD 
>» 


u 


CO 


CO 

2 


TOTAL 


First 


5 


40 


117 


91 
80 


27 


10 

38 


3 

12 
37 
62 

74 
26 

1 
























I 

24 

39 






















21 
2 


77 

63 

35 

3 

1 










6 
20 
36 
73 
57 
19 


3 

9 

16 

39 

~~ 76 
76 


I 

6 
11 
29 
5i 

79 


I 

3 

4 

12 

3i 

63 












Third. .. 


13 

4 


73 

77 


223 
255 


Fourth.. . 






























Fifth 


13 
1 


87 
50 


244 












I 

6 
40 


















2 

15 


7 


1 






13 

5 


237 


Eighth. . . 














305 




















Total 


5 


40 


140 


188 


206 


212 


215 


219 


211 


219 


177 


114 


47 


17 


7 


1 


2013 



io6 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 54 
Distribution of all the parochial children in group E by age and grade 



GRADE 


0> 




Efl 

U 
c3 

>> 


to 
u 

>. 


w 
n! 
!>. 
00 


CU 

a 


a 

>> 






aj 


Xfl 

u 
a) 
a) 
>< 
m 


ct! 
a) 


u 
10 


CjJ 
CU 


<u 


TOTAI^ 


First 




9 

1 


23 


22 
24 


12 


6 

7 


2 

2 
14 


1 
3 
9 
8 


3 

1 
3 
1 
3 












78 






I 
4 
5 
5 
13 












5 


29 
25 


73 






2 

3 

4 
10 








Third 


3 


26 
20 


86 










2 

3 
2 
6 

8 








Fourth 


2 


26 
16 


64 












2 




Fifth 


1 


21 

10 

2 


54 














Sixth 


3 


9 
18 


41 






















16 

7 


52 


















I 




Eighth 


1 


16 
























Total 




10 


28 


49 


68 


60 


63 


54 


39 


51 


35 


21 


3 




481 







Table 55 ' . 

Distribution of rural children by age and grade who attend the union 

schools 



GRADE 


w 
u 


as 

"5 


CU 

>> 

■O 




I* 
00 


cS 
>. 


CU 
CU 
>. 
O 


u 
cti 


a) 
cu 


a! 
cu 
>> 
t<5 


nl 
cu 
>> 
■c* 


a 
<u 
>> 
10 


u 

as 

•0 


Efl 
l-i 

cs 

CU 

>> 


cd 

>. 
00 


TOTAti 


First 




I 






I 


I 

3 














| 




3 








2 
























I 


3 


9 




























Third 




2 
2 


2 
















2 






I 












Fourth . . 




3 
1 


8 














I 














Fifth .. 


5 

6 


7 
















5 


2 

9 














1 
1 


4 

4 


12 
















10 

22 


3 
14 










13 
19 


46 
















7 


2 




Eighth 


5 


29 


98 






















Total 




I 


I 


2 


4 


8 


6 


13 


14 


37 


41 


32 


17 


7 


2 


185 











LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



107 



Table 56 

Distribution of all children in union schools who do not live in rural school 

districts 



GRADE 














to 

u 


u 


CO 


i-< 




(H 


co 


CO 


w 




TOTAL 


































cb 1 






















co 


tu 


















<u 


S? 






CO 


>. 


>> 


>, 


>. 


>. 


>> 


>> 


>> 


>. 


>1 






>. 


>. 




>> 


>. 


>. 










*d- 


in 


-O 


r. 


00 


0, 






*a- 


m 





i> 


oo 


a 
























First 


5 


39 


117 


9i 

78 


26 


9 
35 


3 
12 

37 




















290 




I 
24 
37 






















20 


74 
63 


220 








6 


3 
9 


I 


I 












Third 


13 

4 


71 
75 


221 


















Fourth . . . 


35 


59 


247 


























Fifth 










3 


13 


73 


R? 


35 


t6 


II 


4 










237 


Sixth .... 










1 


1 


25 


SO 


69 
S3 


34 


27 
42 


12 

21 
41 


I 

3 
26 








220 












2 
8 


S 


I 






7 
5 


63 
57 


191 




















Eighth . . . 


14 


50 


207 




















Total 


5 


39 


139 


186 


202 


204 


209 


206 


197 


182 


136 

1 


182 


30 


10 


s 


I 


1833 



Table 57 
Distribution of all school children who live in rural school districts 



GRADE 


CO 

u 

cd 
O 


Cd 

>> 


u 
cd 

CO 

>. 


u 

cd 
CO 
>> 


cd 

0) 

>. 

00 


CO 
In 

CO 

>. 


u 
cd 

CO 

>> 




cd 

0) 

>> 


*-< 

cd 


CO 

u 

cd 
d) 
>> 


CO 

u 
a 

CO 


u 
cd 
CO 
>. 
10 


u 

cd 

CO 


CO 

cd 
<o 
>> 


u 
cd 
<o 
>. 
00 


TOTAL 


First 


5 


56 

1 


124 


102 

94 


64 


26 
61 


I 

28 

57 


3 

24 
58 


2 

1 

7 

19 

66 


I 

4 
16 
38 

44 


1 


3 


I 






387 












29 

7 


88 
69 








3 

8 

24 

30 

55 




I 








Third 


41 

4 
1 
1 


92 

69 


305 














Fourth 


23 

2 


65 
69 


262 










6 
22 
36 
58 


I 

5 

7 

20 








Fifth 


25 

2 


75 
58 


307 










I 

3 

13 


I 
4 






29 

6 


57 
5i 


249 














41 
4 


80 
58 


280 


















Eighth 


15 


74 


246 


















Total 


? 


57 


160 


243 


246 


275 


255 


26s 


218 


241 


195 


125 


35 


17 


5 


2342 



io8 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 





o 


vO 


1*3 






(»} 


f* 


< 




ro 



















CI 




















2 




<=> to 
S.6 






















1 


w 






1" 

1 


ro 




a i 


















1 










1 




1 : 




■g i 


















! 










1 




1 : 




& i 


















1 








I 






1 : 




^ i 












' " 


1 










1 






i H 




s 




































-- 




"ti- 








































ro 
















1 






"1 
















3 










































3 


















" 














I n 




" 1 










" 






























a 












































00 










" 
































r~ 












































O 




















H 


















u 

•A 


in 












































3 


-t 








" 


M H 


























X 
H 


ro 












: " 


" 


























2 












H i 














1 














« 






IN 




























■* 




o 






" "I; 
























rO 




Cs 






<M 


























<o 




00 








01 ! 


H 


























ro 




r~ 








■4- 1 C4 " H 

1 




1 




















c- 




O 




N 


N 


CO 




\ 
1 






















c~ 




in 


ro 


r<5 


vO N 


1 
I 






















1 ■* 




Ti- 


ro 


i- 


* HI 
1 


























H 




fO 


« 


O N 






























<* 




01 


00 






























t^ 


H 
Q 








« 




f 




•*i 




\f 




vO 




t^ 




CO 




o 




o 












f 




-1 




\r 




O 




"c8 

o 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 100, 

MEASUREMENTS OF ACHIEVEMENTS OF PUPILS 
Introduction 

The measure of achievements of pupils. The school is the social 
means society has provided to bring about some of the changes in 
the children of a community which are deemed desirable. The 
teacher is the agent directly in charge of the work of the school. In 
a school system comprising more than one school the administrative 
officers, principals, supervisors and superintendents share with the 
teachers the responsibility for the successful conduct of the schools. 

Any agency whose business it is to bring about changes, whether 
in the productivity of a farm or the pliability of a piece of leather or 
the tone quality of a musical instrument, may have its efficiency 
determined in some degree at least by a measure of the quantity and 
quality of changes made, or of the product produced. 

Within the last decade instruments of measurement have been 
developed whereby it is possible to measure the achievements of 
pupils in several of the school studies much more accurately than 
formerly. These instruments are in the form of so-called standard tests 
and scales. They are standard in the sense that when used under 
approved conditions the results for a given grade or school or school 
system may be compared with those of others, or with a standard of 
attainment derived from the testing of large numbers of school 
pupils. Their use makes possible a comparative study of the achieve- 
ments of the pupils of a school or system of schools and thus indi- 
rectly gives evidence as to the efficiency of the teaching, super- 
vision and administration of the schools. This statement is made 
in full recognition of the fact that there are other factors that enter 
into determining the efficiency of a school than the quality of the 
teaching and the supervision. The teacher is not responsible for 
the quality of the raw material she has to work upon in the way of 
children. Neither is she ordinarily able to exercise much authority 
in the way of selecting supplies. Indeed, even supervisory officers, 
especially in rural communities, are too often handicapped in this 
direction. However, the importance of studying the product of the 
work of all the agencies concerned in the school in terms of the 
achievements of the pupils will be recognized by all, school people 
and patrons alike. This study aims only at reporting the achieve- 
ments of pupils in Livingston county as determined by the use of 
tests such as mentioned above, leaving to the local school authorities 
the search for causes and remedies where such may be required. 

Precautions to insure uniformity in testing. From what has been 
said it will be recognized that if the results for different grades and 



no 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



schools within a system studied are to be comparable, the method of 
giving the tests must be uniform for all. Furthermore, if the results 
are to be comparable with those of other school systems, the method 
must be in accord with that prescribed for a given test. 

To insure as great a measure of uniformity in the giving of the 
tests as was possible under the circumstances, the following pro- 
cedure was carried out. After the general plans for the conduct of 
the survey had been agreed upon by the local school principals and 
superintendents and the survey staff, three conferences were held at 
different points in the county at one or another of which each person 
who was to do any testing was present. At these meetings the 
tests to be used were described, with the aid of sample tests, and 
directions were given for giving the tests in accordance with accepted 
procedure. Opportunity was offered and taken advantage of to 
clear up any doubtful points regarding the conduct of the tests. 

The testing in the one-room and two-room rural schools was done 
by the district superintendents, each in his own district. In the 
parochial and union schools the tests were given by the principals 
of the union schools assisted by two instructors from the Dansville 
High School and the principal of the teacher training department of 
the Geneseo State Normal School. None of these gave the tests in 
his own school. All the test papers with accompanying test record 
sheets were forwarded to the department of rural education at Cor- 
nell University. The scoring was all done there according to accepted 
procedure by paid, trained scorers under the supervision of the 
writer. 

Extent and time of the testing. The aim was to test the pupils of 
the sixth grade as extensively throughout the county as possible. 
To this end all the sixth grade pupils in the thirteen union and five 
parochial schools were tested. In the work with the one-room and 
two-room schools it was necessary to limit the number of schools to 
be reached; therefore schools with 10 or less pupils were eliminated. 
Some others were also ruled out because of the great difficulty of 
reaching them during the severe winter of 19 17-18. Thus about one- 
half of the strictly rural schools were tested as indicated below. 





Supervisory districts 


County 




I 


II 


III 


Total no. of one-room and two-room schools 


52 

35 

25 
28 


49 
32 
25 
27 


5i 
33 
25 
20 


152 
100 




75 


Number tested | Spring . 


75 







LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY III 

The seventy-five schools tested represent a random sampling 
except in so far as they were the larger schools. In the discussion 
that follows of the relative standing of the one-room and two-room 
schools tested, it may well be borne in mind that if the results would 
be appreciably different for all such schools the difference would in 
all probability be in the direction of lower attainments. 

In the one-room and two-room schools all pupil's o years old and 
older were given the tests. This insured getting all the sixth grade 
pupils and at the same time with very little additional cost gave 
returns for all the pupils for whom the tests were appropriate. 

The tests were given in two instalments, in the winter and in the 
spring. The major part of the winter testing came in December, 
and that of the spring testing in May. The particular tests given 
each time are indicated below. 

Treatment of the results. The results of the testing have been 
treated so as to bring out the following : 

1 Sixth grade achievements in each test for one-room schools, two- 
room schools, union schools, parochial schools, all schools. 

2 Sixth grade achievements in each test for one-room and two-room 
schools by supervisory districts. 

3 Sixth grade achievements in each test for the different union 
schools. 

4 Comparison of achievements of the sixth grade in all types of 
schools in Livingston county with those in other school systems and 
with standards. 

5 Comparison of achievements of grades 4-8 in one-room and two- 
room schools in Livingston county with those in other school systems 
and with standards. 

6 Comparison of achievements by boys and girls of grade 6 in 
Livingston county. 

7 Achievements of grades 4-8 in one-room and two-room schools 
in Livingston county. 

The Tests Used 

Arithmetic. The Woody scales, series B, were used to test achieve- 
ments in the fundamental arithmetic operations, addition, sub- 
traction, multiplication and division. The tests for addition and 
division were given at the first testing, and subtraction and multi- 
plication at the second. 

To test achievement in arithmetic reasoning the Stone reasoning 
tests were used. These will be referred to as Stone 1 and Stone 2, 
These tests are presented by the author as of equal difficulty. The 
former was given in the winter and the latter in the spring. 



112 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

English. Three types of tests were employed to measure the 
achievements of the pupils in command of the English language. 

Vocabulary tests. The Thorndike visual vocabulary scales A2 
and B, x series, were given in the winter and the scales A 2 and B, y 
series, in the spring. These scales serve as a means of measurement 
of achievement in reading, in so far as that depends on knowledge of 
words. 

Paragraph reading. Achievement in paragraph reading was 
measured in the winter by use of the Thorndike scales Alpha 2, part 
1. The test here is of ability to answer questions on paragraphs read. 

Completion tests. As a further measure of control of the English 
language, the Trabue completion test-language scales B and C were 
given at the first testing and the tests D and E at the second. These 
tests have proved very useful as a measure of control of language and 
have shown rather high correlations with general intelligence ratings. 

Spelling. Spelling ability was tested in the spring by the use of 
the first 20 words from column S of the Ayres list of 1000 most 
commonly used words. 

Handwriting. The quality and speed of handwriting were 
tested in the spring as follows: The sentence, " Mary had a little 
lamb," was written on the board and the pupils were asked to write 
it repeatedly as well as they could until told to stop. They wrote 
two minutes. . The quality was measured by the use of the Thorn- 
dike scale. Each paper was scored independently by two persons. 
In case of disagreement another independent scoring was made by a 
third person. If any two persons agreed, that score was taken. If 
no two agreed the middle score was used. Thus in effect the papers 
were scored by three people. 

The speed was measured in terms of the number of letters written 
a minute. 

Results of the Testing 

It will be seen from table 59 that the inferiority of the one-room 
schools stands out clearly. In only one test (multiplication) do the 
one-room schools take as high as second rank. They share second 
rank with the union schools in one of the tests in arithmetic reason- 
ing. They share third rank with the union schools in subtraction 
and one vocabulary test. In another vocabulary test and in speed of 
writing they rank third. In all other tests they rank fourth. 

Likewise it is clear that the parochial schools show superiority. 
They rank third in addition and in one completion test, share second 
rank with the two-room schools in division, rank second in sub- 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 113 

traction, paragraph reading, and speed of writing, and take first 
rank in all the other tests. 

To guard against giving undue weight to rank, which does not 
represent amount of superiority, direct comparison may be made 
of the median score in each test for each type of school with each 
of the others and for all types combined. Thus it will be seen that 
in addition, though the two-room schools rank first, the median 
scores for two-room, union and parochial schools vary only slightly. 
On the other hand, in vocabulary test A2y the superiority of the 
parochial schools over the other three types is marked. Probably 
the greatest superiority of these schools is in the tests in arithmetic 
reasoning. 

The average numbers of pupils tested in each type of school for all 
tests were: one-room schools, 103; two-room schools, 51; union 
schools, 234; parochial schools, 60. 

One-room and two-room schools. Table 60 was prepared to 
permit a direct comparison of the achievements of the pupils of the 
sixth grade in the one-room and two-room schools of each super- 
visory district with those of the others. The superiority of. district 
2 in general is clearly evident. The superiority of district 2 over 
district 3 is less marked than over district 1, but still clearly 
noticeable. 

Union schools. Table 61 should be of interest to the teachers 
and principals of the schools represented as it shows how the achieve- 
ments of sixth grade pupils compare. Only those schools having 
14 or more pupils at the time of giving the addition test are reported. 
Average scores for the different groups of tests have been calculated 
so as to facilitate comparison among the schools. It is evident 
that some schools are superior to others in the tests as a whole. 
Comparison can readily be made by anyone interested. 

Another use to which the table may be put is to answer the ques- 
tion, How consistently does a given school maintain its rank as 
inferior, medium or superior? For example, Caledonia ranks first 
in the fundamental arithmetic operations, arithmetic reasoning, 
vocabulary tests, completion tests and spelling; second in paragraph 
reading, Alpha 2, and speed of handwriting; third in quality of 
handwriting. 

Comparison of achievements of grade 6 in all types of schools, 
and of grades 4 to 6 in one-room and two-room schools. The 
questions considered thus far have been concerned with the com- 
parative achievements of pupils in different types of schools within 
Livingston county. Another problem that school teachers and 



114 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

supervisors of a given system of schools are interested in is that of 
the achievements of the pupils in their system as compared with 
those of other systems and with any standards that may have been 
established. A given type of school may be leading within a county 
and yet fall considerably short of the attainments of other schools 
of the same class. 

One of the difficulties in the comparative study of achievements 
of rural school children is the scarcity of comparative data. Very 
little has yet been done in the way of using the so-called " standard " 
tests in the rural schools. A start has been made and at present 
the promise is for rapid progress in the near future. 

In this study use is made of available data for rural schools as 
fully as possible. In addition selected data from urban schools 
are presented. The selections have been made with the aim of 
reporting schools well distributed geographically, as to size, and 
range of achievements of pupils. 

Tables 62 to 68 show in each case the median achievement of 
the sixth grade for all types of schools in Livingston county, and 
the achievements of grades 4 to 8 in one-room and two-room schools 
of Livingston county, followed by data for comparison. 

Arithmetic 

Fundamental operations. Table 62 shows that in addition 
Livingston county schools score consistently below the Woody 
standard, the amount ranging from .6 in the fourth grade to 3.9 
in the seventh. In subtraction the Livingston county schools 
exceed slightly the standard for the fourth, fifth and seventh grades, 
and fall less than 1 point below in the sixth and eighth. The show- 
ing here is therefore good. In multiplication the fourth and fifth 
grades are appreciably above the standard, the sixth grade of the 
one-room and two-room schools just reaches it and the seventh and 
eighth fall below. Again in division the fourth and fifth grades 
reach or exceed the standard but the sixth, seventh and eighth fail 
to reach it. To summarize: the fourth grade in the one-room and 
two-room schools of Livingston county ranks very well in the fun- 
damental operations in arithmetic; the fifth ranks well in all but 
addition; the sixth grade approximates the standard rather closely; 
and the seventh and eighth grades are appreciably below the standard, 
with only one exception (subtraction) for the seventh grade. This 
condition suggests the advisability of a study of the work of the 
upper grades in arithmetic. The results show that the sixth grade 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 115 

in all types of schools combined scored slightly higher than in the 
one-room and two-room schools in addition and division but slightly 
below the standard in all tests. 

Reasoning. Table 63 shows how the schools in Livingston county 
compare with those in other systems in arithmetic reasoning. The 
results from Nassau county are not representative of a rural county. 
Of the 63 independent school districts in the county there are only 
7 one-room schools, 8 two-room schools, 5 three-room schools, 8 
four-room schools, the remainder having five rooms or more. 1 

The fifth grade score in Livingston county for Stone is low as 
compared with other schools. The sixth grade ranks slightly better, 
being higher than one of the other five. The seventh grade ranks 
well, being superior to two. In the eighth grade scores, Livingston 
county equals one other. 

Tests 1 and 2 are presented by Doctor Stone as of equal difficulty. 
Hence we have here a means of measuring improvement in arith- 
metic reasoning during the interim between testings, approximately 
5 months. Table 63 shows a slight improvement for the fourth 
and fifth grades, but a decrease in achievements for the other grades, 
so slight, however, as to be negligible except perhaps for the sixth. 

English 

Completion tests. From table 64 it may be seen that the achieve- 
ments in Livingston county are consistently higher than the stand- 
ards established by Trabue, the author of the tests. Attention 
should be called to the fact that Doctor Trabue specifically states 
that these figures are estimates and not based upon a sufficiently 
large number of testings to be set up as standards. They are 
undoubtedly too low. Comparison of the Livingston county scores 
with the others reported shows them in general ranking very well. 
The superiority of the Livingston county scores is greatest in the 
lower grades, the averages in the four tests being 2.2, 1.9, 1.3, 1.1 
and 1.2 for grades 4 to 8 respectively. 

Paragraph reading. Table 65 permits a comparison of scores in 
Livingston county with the Thorndike standards, which Professor 
Thorndike defines as " simply achievements a little above those 
actually made in schools under the possibly disturbing conditions 
of test by an outsider." For grades 4 and 5, the difference is small, 
but for grades 6, 7 and 8, appreciably larger. The reader is reminded 
that only part 1 of the test was used, comprising sets 1-4. The 

1 Report of a Survey of Public Education in Nassau County, New York, p. 9. 



Il6 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

question, therefore, may well be, Were the seventh and eighth grades 
adequately tested? The answer is definitely in the affirmative in 
the case of the seventh grade. In this grade set 4 showed 27.6 per 
cent of answers wrong. Since the score as calculated is based on 
the degree of difficulty that the class can read with 80 per cent of 
correct answers, the seventh grade did not require, the next degree 
of difficulty represented by step 5. It is probable that the eighth 
grade would have attained a slightly higher score, as the percentage 
of wrong answers in step 4 was 18.6. 

Spelling 
Table 66 shows that in spelling the pupils in Livingston county 
rank for all grades somewhat lower than the average for 84 cities. 
The difference is in no case very large, however. It is interesting 
to note the close correspondence between the scores in Livingston 
county and in the rural schools of Louisiana. The latter are based 
on the results of testing with other words in the Ayres test than 
those used in this study. But the figures are directly comparable 
as they have been calculated on the basis of the Ayres standard 
for words of the difficulty used in this study. The superiority of 
the Livingston county schools over those of Wisconsin is marked. 

Handwriting 

In table 67 are recorded the median achievements of pupils in 
Livingston county and in other systems in the quality of their hand- 
writing in terms of the Thorndike scale. Livingston county pupils 
compare very favorably with those in other places, ranking above 
at least two others in each grade. Attention is called to the close 
correspondence between the scores, grade for grade, in Livingston 
county and Louisiana rural schools. 

Table 68 shows the speed of writing in terms of letters a minute. 
Here the Livingston county scores are all low, the difference increas- 
ing in the upper grades; in fact the scores are so low as to raise a 
question as to their representing the facts fairly. Here, too, the 
difference between the score by the sixth grade for all types of schools 
and that for one-room and two-room schools is considerable. 

Achievements of grades 4 to 8 in one-room and two-room schools 
in Livingston county. Tables 69 to 76 give the distributions of the 
scores for grades 4 to 8 in the one-room and two-room schools, as 
the basis for tables 62 to 68, and for the summarizing table, 77. 
Table 7 7 permits an answer to the question, Do the results in these 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 117 

schools show regular progress from grade 4 to grade 8 in the different 
tests? The answer is that they do. There is only one exception, 
in the case of speed of writing, where the sixth grade score is some- 
what below that of the fifth grade. 1 

Comparison of achievements of boys and girls. The results of 
the testing have been treated so as to permit a comparison of the 
achievements of boys and girls in the sixth grade for all types of 
schools in the county. The facts are presented in table 78. It is 
significant that the girls are in the lead so consistently in all non- 
mathematical subjects. This superiority extends essentially into 
the fundamental operations in arithmetic, for the single case of 
superiority for the boys is so slight as to be negligible. However, 
in tests in arithmetic reasoning the superiority of the boys is unmis- 
takable. We have here further evidence of what is commonly 
recognized among teachers, that boys excel girls in solving problems 
involving arithmetic reasoning. 

Summary 

The outstanding features brought out in the preceding discussion 
are summarized below : 

1 . In general the schools of Livingston county rank very well so 
far as tested, when compared with the achievements in other school 
systems. This is particularly to the credit of the schools of the 
county when it is recognized that comparison is made for the most 
part with city school systems, or with standards based on city school 
returns. 

2 Of the three supervisory districts, district 2 is in general superior 
to the other two in the achievements of the sixth grade pupils in 
one-room and two-room schools. District 3 ranks second. 

3 Among the eight union schools large enough to warrant com- 
parison, some stand out clearly as superior in the achievements of 
their sixth grade pupils in their tests as a whole. Others are as 
clearly inferior. Some schools show a fairly consistent record 
throughout the tests. Others are very erratic. The results are of 
particular significance only to the schools concerned. 

4 The one outstanding exception to the generally favorable 
showing of the Livingston county schools is in the speed of hand- 
writing. If the returns truly present the facts, the teachers may well 
take pains to correct this deficiency. It is of course a simple matter 
for a teacher to test her pupils in this respect. The attainment 
of a reasonable degree of speed in handwriting is certainly a part of 
the work of the school. 



u8 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



5 The one-room and two-room schools show consistent progress 
in the achievements of their pupils from grade 4 to grade 8 with the 
exception of speed of handwriting. Here there is practically no 
progress from the fourth to the sixth, and very little in the seventh 
and eighth grades. 

6 The girls of the sixth grade in Livingston county are superior 
to the boys in all tests but subtraction and the two tests in arithmetic 
reasoning. It is true that in several instances the superiority of 
the girls is slight. In subtraction the superiority of the boys is so 
slight as to be negligible, but in the reasoning tests it is considerable. 

Table 59 
Comparison of achievements by grade 6 in different types of schools 



MEDIAN SCORES 



i-room 
schools 



2-room 
schools 


Union 
schools 


Parochial 
schools 


14.3 
12. 
14-7 
97 


14. 1 
11. 5 
14-5 
9-8 


14. 
11. 8 
15-4 
9-7 


4-3 
3-4 


3-7 
3-8 


4.9 
5-7 


4.6 
5- 
4-5 
4.8 


4.4 
4-7 
4-9 
6.1 


4.8 

5-2 

6.7 
6.5 


17.3 


16.8 


17. 1 


12.3 
12.2 
13. 1 
12.8 


12.4 
12.3 
13. 5 
12.8 


12.2 
12.6 
14.6 
13-3 


16. 


IS- 3 


17.4 


10.2 
42.7 


10.4 
66.9 


11. 7 
6S-7 



All 

schools 



Addition — ■ Woody , 

Subtraction — Woody 

Multiplication — Woody . 
Division — Woody 



Arithmetic reasoning 

Stone 1 

Stone 2 



Vocabulary tests 

A 2 x 

B x 

A 2 y 

B y 



Reading — Alpha 2 . 

Completion tests 

Trabue B 

Trabue C 

Trabue D 

Trabue E 

Spelling 

Handwriting 

Quality 

Speed , 



13.4 

11. S 

IS- 1 

8.4 



3-6 
3-8 



4.4 
4-5 
4.8 
4-7 

IS. 8 



11. 6 
11. 8 
12.6 
12.4 

14.8 



9.6 

51.2 



14. 
11. 6 
14.7 
9.5 



4- 
39 



4.5 
4-7 
S.i 
5-9 

16.7 



13.5 
12.8 



15.3 



10.5 
60.1 






LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



119 



Table 60 

Comparison of achievements by grade 6 in one-room schools of supervisory 

districts 



MEDIAN SCORES IN 



District 

1 


District 
2 


District 
3 


12.4 
10. 
13-4 
5.8 


14.4 

12.8 

16. s 

8.8 


135 

11. 7 

IS- 1 

8.9 


•3. 
3- 


4-3 
4.4 


33 
39 


4-3 
4.1 
4.1 
4-4 


4-4 
4-6 
6.S 
6.4 


4-5 
4-8 
4-9 
4-9 


14.6 


16.6 


IS. 8 


10.9 
II. 4 

13. 
12. 


12.2 

12. 

12.9 

12.7 


11. 8 
12. 1 
12. 
12. 


13- S 


17.7 


13-4 


9.5 

47-4 


9-4 
45.8 


9.9 
66.3 



Addition — Woody 

Subtraction — Woody . . . 
Multiplication — Woody 
Division — Woody 

Arithmetic reasoning 

Stone 1 

Stone 2 

Vocabulary tests 

A 2 x 

B x 

A 2 y 

B y 

Reading — Alpha 2 

Completion tests 

Trabue B 

Trabue C 

Trabue D 

Trabue E 

Spelling 

Handwriting 

Quality 

Speed , 



120 



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LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



121 



Table 62 

Comparison of median achievements in Livingston county with Woody standards 
in the fundamental arithmetic operations 



MEDIAN SCORES IN 


grade 4 


GRADE S 


GRADE 6 


GRADE 7 


GRADE 8 


Addition 
Livingston county 




II. 8 

14 

10.2 
10 

12.7 
II 

7 
7 


14 

13-7 
15 

11. 6 

11. 8 
12 

14-7 

IS 

IS 

9-S 
8.9 
10 


14- 1 

18 

13. I 
13 

IS. 7 
17 

10. S 
13 




One-room and two-room schools. . 


10.4 
11 


IS- 6 

18. 5 


Subtraction 
Livingston county 




One-room and two-room schools . 


8.9 
8 


13-7 

14. S 


Multiplication 
Livingston county 




One-room and two-room schools . 


10. 2 

7 


16.9 

18 


Division 

Livingston county 




One-room and two-room schools . 


5.2 
s 


ii-S 

14 







1 Clifford Woody, Measurements of some Achievements in Arithmetic. Teachers Collegei 
Columbia University, 1916. 

Table 6$ 

Comparison of median achievements in Livingston county with those in other 
school systems in arithmetic reasoning 



SCHOOL SYSTEM 



GRADE 4 GRADE S GRADE 6 GRADE 7 GRADE 



Stone I 
Livingston county 

All schools , 

One-room and two-room schools 



Nassau county, N. Y. 

Janesville, Wis 

La Porte, Ind 

Butte, Mont 

San]Francisco, Cal. . . 



Stone 2 
Livingston county 

All schools 

One-room and two-room schools 



2.4 
3'. 4 
2.7 
2.8 



4- 
3-9 

4-S 
3-4 
4-6 
4-4 
4-S 



3-9 
3-6 



S.S 
8.1 
6.3 

5-4 



5-6 



6.3 

7-2 
6.3 
8.6 
8.2 
6.8 



6.2 



122 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 64 

Comparison of median achievements in Livingston county with those in other 
school systems and with Trabue standards in completion tests 



MEDIAN SCORES IN 



GRADE 4 



GRADE 5 



GRADE 6 



GRADE 7 



GRADE 8 



Livingston county 

All schools 

One-room and two-room schools 

Janesville, Wis. . . .' 

Seattle, Wash 

Trabue standard (estimated) 



Livingston county 

All schools 

One-room and two-room schools . 

Nassau county, N. Y 

Chatham, N.J 

Mobile, Ala. 

Janesville, Wis 

Seattle, Wash 

Trabue standard (estimated) 



Livingston county 

All schools 

One-room and two-room schools 

Seattle, Wash 

Trabue standard (estimated) 



Livingston county 

All schools 

One-room and two-room schools . 

Seattle, Wash 

Trabue standard (estimated) 



99 

10. 2 



10. 7 

11. 7 
99 



Trabue B 



11. 3 

"9-0 



Trabue C 



10. 9 
" 9 '.'<5 



12.3 
"9.(5 



11. 7 

'9-'o 



11. 8 

12.8 
13-4 



13.6 
12.8 
14.2 



12.8 

12. s 
13.3 

11. 



13- 
13.6 

14. 1 
12.3 



13- 

13-6 

12.3 



13-2 
13-9 
12.3 



14.2 
14-3 
14.6 
13-3 



15. 1 
15-3 
13-3 



14-7 
IS. 5 
13.3 



Table 65 

Comparison of achievements in Livingston county with Thorndike standards 
in paragraph reading (Alpha 2) 



GRADE 6 



GRADE 8 



Livingston county 

One-room and two-room schools 
Thorndike standard 



5. 
5-25 



5.50 
5-75 



S-79 
6.50 



6.02 



6.99 
7.50 



Table 66 

Comparison of achievements in Livingston county with those in 84 cities in 

spelling 





grade 4 


GRADE 5 


GRADE 6 


GRADE 7 


GRADE 8 


Livingston county 




54-6 
58. 

53-4 

47-7 


70. 
69. 
73. 

69- 5 
61.7 


79-7 

84. 

82.1 

72. S 




One-room and two-room schools . 


33-9 


89.3 
92. 








79-9 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



123 



Table 67 

Comparison of median achievements in Livingston county with those in other 
school systems in quality of handwriting (Thorndike scale) 



MEDIAN SCORES IN 


GHADE 4 


GRADE 5 


GRADE 6 


GRADE 7 


GRADE 8 


Livingston county 




9.1 
10. 

9-4 

12. s 

9. 

9-1 

9-4 

11. 7 

9-1 

8.9 

8.9 

9-3 

10.8 


10.5 

9-7 

10. 5 

9.4 

II. I 
9.1 

9.5 

9.8 
12. 
9.5 

11. 6 
99 
9.8 

II. 3 


10.6 
11. 

9-7 
12. 

91 
10.3 
10.4 
12.4 
10. 2 
11. 2 

97 
10.4 
11. 9 




One-room and two-room schools . 


8.9 
9- 
8.3 
II. 2 
8.4 

8.6 

8.8 

""8/9 

8.8 

8.7 

8.7 

10. 1 


11. 3 






Morris Township, N. J 


12.8 




9.8 


114 rural schools of Louisiana i 

Elmira, N. Y 


10.7 


13. 1 








10.6 




10.9 











1 Converted from Ayres to Thorndike units by the method of Starch, 
ments, p. 84. 



Educational Measure- 



Table 68 

Comparison of median achievements in Livingston county with those in other 
school systems in speed of handwriting (letters a minute) 



MEDIAN SCORES IN 


GRADE 4 


GRADE S 


GRADE 6 


GRADE 7 


GRADE 8 


Livingston county 




49.9 
56.5 
65.5 
6l. 

59- 1 

57. 

65. 

594 

69.4 


60. I 

47-9 

56.6 

72.6 

67. 

62.8 

65. 

72. 

63.7 

73. 


51.8 

75- 6 

75. 

7i. 

67.9 

75. 

80. 

72. 2 

78.8 




One-room and two-room schools . 


47-4 

56.3 

61.9 

SI. 

51.2 

47. 

56. 

47.9 

59-3 


54 
77 
76 
73 
73 
83 
90 


4 




<; 


















1 14 rural schools of Louisiana 




88 





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LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



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THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK' 



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LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



131 



Table 77 

Comparison of achievements in grades 4-8 of one-room and two-room schools 

in Livingston county 



MEDIAN SCORES IN 



Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 



Addition — Woody 

Subtraction — Woody . . . 
Multiplication — Woody 
Division — Woody 

Arithmetic reasoning 

Stone 1 

Stone 2 

Vocabulary tests 

A 2 x 

B x 

A2y 

B y 

Reading — Alpha 2 

Completion tests 

Trabue B 

Trabue C 

Trabue D 

Trabue E 

Spelling 

Handwriting 

Quality 

Speed 



10.4 
8.9 

10.2 
5-2 



4.1 
35 
3-9 
4- 

10.7 



9-9 

9-5 

10.7 

10.8 

5.8 



8.9 

47-4 



11. 8 
10.2 
12.7 

7. 



9-1 
49-9 



13-7 
11. 8 
IS- 
8.9 



3-9 
3-6 



4.4 
4-7 
4-6 
4.8 

16.4 



IS-3 



9.7 
47-9 



14. 1 
13. 1 
IS-7 
10. S 



18.6 



13. 
133 
14. 1 
132 

17.6 



10.6 
51.8 



6.3 
6.2 



6.4 
6.8 
7-4 
7.6 

19.4 



14.2 
13.9 

IS- 1 
14-7 

193 



II. 3 

54-4 



Table 78 
Comparison of achievements by boys and girlg of grade 6 for all schools 



MEDIAN SCORES 



Boys 



Girls 



SUPERIORITY 



Boys 



Girls 



Addition — Woody 

Subtraction — Woody . . 
Multiplication — Woody 
Division — Woody 

Arithmetic reasoning 

Stone 1 

Stone 2 

Vocabulary tests 

A 2 x 

B x 

A 2 y 

B y 

Reading — Alpha 2 

Completion tests 

Trabue B 

Trabue C 

Trabue D 

Trabue E 

Spelling 

Handwriting 

Quality 

Speed 



139 

11. 6 

14-5 

9.1 


14. 1 
11. 5 
IS. 
9-7 


4.4 
4-3 


3-S 
3.3 


4.4 
4-5 

4-5 
4-9 


4.6 
4-8 
5-9 
6.2 


16.4 


17. 


11. 6 
11. 9 
13-3 
12. 5 


12.7 
12.5 
13.6 
I3-I 


iS-2 


16.6 


9.8 
60. 


10.9 
60.2 



.3 
1.4 
1.3 



I.I 
.6 
.3 
.6 



1.1 

.2 



132 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



THE SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS IN LIVINGSTON COUNTY 
The district system of school administration and support is best 
adapted to sections that are newly settled. Under the conditions 
that obtain in such regions, there are usually no marked differences 
in wealth because commercial centers have not been developed, 
railroads are few in number and interurban lines are still unbuilt. 
As a result, the tax burdens that different communities have to 
bear in order to furnish their children with essentially equal school 
facilities are about the same. 



Marked Differences in Assessed Valuation of School Districts 

But students of school administration have frequently pointed 
out that such a system is not well adapted to a state that has been 
settled for many years, as has New York State, because of the 
marked differences in wealth that come as a result of more complete 
development than obtains in recently settled states. In spite of the 
fact that Livingston county is primarily rural and hence not char- 
acterized by such marked differences in aggregation of population 
and wealth as obtains in many other portions of the State, it is 
evident from table 79, compiled for the school year 19 .17-18, that 
there were great inequalities. Although only common school dis- 
tricts are included in this table, the range in assessed valuation is 
from $16,149 in district 5, in the town of West Sparta to $405,018 
in the town of Caledonia, district 3. This means that the latter 
district had resources for school support that were twenty-five 
times as great as the former, although it actually raised less than 
twice as much for the support of its schools. 

Table 79 
Assessed valuation and total school tax in the common school districts 



District 


Assessed 

valuation 


Tax on 
property 


Town of Avon 


#142 260 
241 280 
123 900 
123 750 
150 195 
79 650 
89 161 
132 995 
131 440 
375 061 
289 381 


S383 25 


3 ; 


613 35 
/j/]6 T5 




350 00 


6 


524 00 


7 

S 


382 32 
340 17 








425 00 




550 00 


12 


1 251 49 



District 


Assessed 
valuation 


Tax on 
property 


Town of Caledonia 


$102 640 
151 014 
405 018 
153 653 
366 670 


$342 51 




398 44 


3 

6 

9 '■ 


617 00 
419 49 
500 00 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



133 



Table 79 {continued) 

Assessment valuatiDn and total school tax in the common school districts 

(continued) 



District 


Assessed 
valuation 


Tax on 
property 


Town of Ceneseo 


$308 532 

90 000 

141 328 

131 172 

97 401 

176 492 

140 940 

124 800 

89 735 














400 00 


6 






8 








10 


385 00 



13- 
I4- 
15. 
16. 
17. 
IS. 
10. 



Town of Leicester 



$70 103 
96 832 


$368 03 
407 67 


223 903 


425 00 


385 792 
76 948 

167 460 


2 970 46 

434 81 
284 60 


192 090 
46 517 
83 603 


410 00 
350 76 
360 00 



Town of Conesus 



$150 193 

ior 161 

70 513 

186 290 

68 490 

69 079 
59 162 
72 681 
40 312 



Town of Livonia 



$170 924 
128 070 
69 800 
164 420 
199 020 
148 765 
112 881 
Joint 
112 464 
Joint 
_ 9 4 450 
Town of Springwater 

$115 70S 

33 135 

59.202 

Ontario co 



56 140 
39 207 
66 586 
26 62s 

39 625 
81 973 
50 370 
24 305 
45 760 

41 740 

42 075 
74 515 

40 790 
86 259 



$380 32 
394 42 
400 52 
926 95 
375 00 
a 99 96 
349 64 
435 71 
292 21 



$512 92 

2 114 54 

375 00 

[ 288 34 

: 069 00 

698 27 

400 00 

338 25 

"378'84 



S254 66 
331 45 



261 25 
257 48 
300 32 
283 29 
277 37 
409 97 
253 00 
263 80 
379 80 
332 32 
383 17 
447 09 
303 17 
354 48 



District 


Assessed 
valuation 


Tax on 

property 


Town of Groveland 


$182 195 
145 031 
126 827 
105 781 
73 728 
334 744 
225 773 


5626 37 




562 68 




459 11 




431 13 


6 


325 00 




1 921 00 


8 


450 00 



Town of York 



Town of Lima 



Town of Sparta 



$159 565 
227 786 
166 223 
294 976 
Joint 
103 030 

.265 761 
82 033 
131 304 
220 032 
117 092 



5i39 940 
145 264 
267 120 
106 383 
244 274 
163 829 
130 130 
190 249 



$63 345 
87 297 
175 794 
175 697 
79 880 
Data 
54 642 
85 767 
41 758 



Town of Mount Morris 

$81 963 
108 633 
55 836 
86 795 
69 143 
84 905 
75 973 
45 955 
Data 
65 743 
41 840 
77 242 



S903 51 

683 35 

586 74 

[ 472 88 

334 85 
[ 351 42 
328 13 
400 00 
990 21 
0120 00 



$375 00 
310 47 
390 00 
400 00 
897 00 
347 31 
400 00 
426 5 S 



$218 03 
305 22 
375 00 
525 00 
583 00 
lacking 

382 48 
343 07 
282 96 



$403 97 
452 12 
329 08 
400 15 
394 II 
373 58 
372 30 
305 16 
lacking 

361 52 
260 31 
448 00 



a Contracted. 



134 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 79 (continued) 

Assessed valuation and total school tax in the common school districts 

. {continued) 



District 



Town of Ossian 



Assessed 
valuation 



$71 688 
28 S80 
62 no 

37 590 
71 680 
68 308 
55 791 

38 336 

39 498 
38 5S6 



Tax on 
property 



District 



Town of West Sparta 



3- 
4- 
5- 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 



606 

52 666 
61 001 
83 000 
16 149 
57 148 
59 314 
57 149 
31 126 
45 918 
52 971 
19 624 



$311 68 
228 01 
aso 00 
371 76 
369 34 
324 43 
351 4S 
245 84 
256 31 
278 17 



$374 02 
301 86 
384 18 
426 69 
239 75 
317 76 
355 88 
320 00 
290 63 
320 00 
300 34 
63 46 



Town of Dansville 



Assessed 
valuation 



Town of Nunda 



Town of Portage 



$75 140 



$38 846 
33 600 
38 080 
43 236 
40 000 
63 232 
49 750 
62 465 
85 244 
27 193 

$55 300 
51 080 

Wyom 

45 142 

Dissolved 

115 084 

15 96o 

42 921 

87 r 5 i 

138 729 

142 000 

176 315 



Tax on 
property 



$328 72 



$291 35 
234 05 
250 00 
432 33 
250 o 7 
316 I« 
269 82 
312 38 
319 99 
232 76 



$359 46 
300 00 
ing co. 

236 65 

402 87 
63 00 
0278 31 
304 02 
471 60 
355 96 
439 07 



a Contracted. 

b No children in district. 

It is interesting to note that in the union free school districts, 
these districts maintain both elementary and high schools, that 
three of the fourteen districts had an assessed valuation which was 
less than the highest valuation represented by a common school 
district. See the following districts: Livonia no. 4, Springwater 
no. 2, Nunda no. 12 in table 80 and district 3, Caledonia, in table 79. 

Table 80 
Assessed valuation and total school tax in the union free school districts 



Town 


District 


Assessed 
valuation 


Tax on 

property 




1 
5 
5 
4 
3 

9 
9 

4 
2 
1 
1 
1 
12 


$1 408 948 

1 241 346 

2 370 070 
516 653 
426 435 
S76 925 
609 592 
598 966 
383 238 
192 600 

1 459 536 

2 089 801 
671 486 
210 695 




















York 










5 884 40 










Mount Morris 


15 376 57 












1 983 17 







a Schools are conducted in cooperation with the state normal school which is located in the 
village of Geneseo. 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



135 



Differences of Tax Rate 

When a comparison is made of the valuation per pupil based on 
average daily attendance and the tax rate per thousand dollars of 
assessed valuation, the results are even more interesting than in 
the case of the total assessed valuation per district. By a com- 
parison of tables 79 and 81, as might be expected, it is found that 
in nearly all cases the districts of high assessed valuation had a low- 
tax rate. In general, this means that the wealthy districts, those 
best able to pay, had the lowest tax rate. This is well shown by a 
comparison of district 1, Geneseo, which had a total assessed valua- 
tion of $308,532, an assessed valuation of $22,038 back of each pupil, 
and as a result had to pay only $1.29 a thousand, while in West 
Sparta, district 5 with a total assessed valuation of $16,149, an 
assessed valuation of $5383 per pupil, had a tax rate of $14.23. The 
latter district paid a tax rate more than eleven times as great as the 
former but the sum which it yielded when combined with the state 
aid could not have been sufficient to adequately support an ele- 
mentary school. 

Table 81 

Valuation per pupil in average "daily attendance and tax rate per thousand 
dollars of assessed valuation 



District 


Valuation 
per pupil 


Tax 
rate 


Town of Avon 


I12 158 98 

10 490 43 
12 029 13 
26 902 17 

8 031 82 

11 378 57 
7 821 14 

14 148 34 

19 329 41 

14 260 87 

6 808 97 


$2 69 












2 83 


6 


3 49 


7 


4 80 


8 




9 




10 




II 






4 32 



Town 

1 

2 

3 

4 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

Town 

1 

2 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 



of Geneseo 

$22 038 00 

6 040 27 

11 216 51 

25 720 00 

Contr 
27 576 87 
16 778 57 
13 565 22 

8 628 36 

of Leicester 
$8 345 60 
16 412 21 
20 354 82 

4 538 73 
6 412 33 

20 932 50 
19 209 00 

9 691 04 

5 971 64 



acted 



29 
41 
65 
05 

26 
55 
08 
30 



District 


Valuation 
per pupil 


Tax 
rate 


Town of Caledo 


nia 

$6 183 13 
10 560 42 
28 929 86 
23 280 76 
30 555 83 


13 34 




2 64 


3 

6 


1 52 

2 73 


9 


1 36 



Town of Groveland 
$7 287 80 

10 987 20 

6 309 81 

15 556 03 

11 342 77 
8 583 18 

37 on 97 



Tow 



n of York 
$5 483 33 
18 369 84 
9 777 82 

8 752 .70 

Joint 

n 078 49 

7 402 81 

7 525 96 

9 514 78 
7 858 28 

Contr 



$3 44 
3 88 

3 62 

4 08 

4 41 

5 74 
I 99 



$5 66 
3 00 

3 S3 

4 99 



acted 



3 25 
S 05 

4 00 

3 05 

4 50 



136 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Table 8i {continued) 

Valuation par pupil in average daily attendance and tax rate per thousand 
dollars of assessed valuation (continued) 



District 


Valuation 
per pupil 


Tax 
rate 


Town of Conesus 


$i6 688 II 
9 196 45 
5 876 08 

5 821 56 
9 784 29 

Contracted 

4 930 17 

6 601 64 

5 039 00 


$2 S3 




3 89 




5 68 




4 98 






6 


1 45 




5 91 


8 . -. 




9 


7 25 



District 


Valuation 
per pupil 


Tax 
rate 


Town of Lima 


$19 991 43 
9 079 00 

20 547 70 
7 598 79 
6 979 26 

27 304 83 
6 196 67 

IS 853 67 


$2 68 












3 76 




6 








8 


2 24 



Town of Livonia 



$10 054 35 

3 766 76 

II 633 33 

5 303 87 

7 654 62 

7 829 74 

9 406 75 

Joint 

11 246 40 

Joint 

IS 741 67 



$3 00 
16 Si 
S 37 
7 84 
5 37 
4 69 
3 54 



3 01 

4 01 



Town of Sparta 

1 

2 , 

3 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

9 



$6 334 50 
7 936 09 

14 649 SO 
9 247 21 

3 630 91 
Data lack 

4 553 50 
3 098 17 
6 959 67 



$3 44 

3 50 
2 13 
2 99 
7 29 

7 00 

4 00 
6 78 



Town of Springwaler 



12 


856 11 


s 


522 50 


3 


482 47 




Ontario 


9 


356 67 


3 


920 70 


S 


548 83 


8 


875 00 


13 


208 33 


4 


821 94 


7 


195 71 


8 


101 67 


3 


813 33 


3 


794 55 


8 


415 00 


14 


903 00 


5 


098 75 


4 


107 57 



$2 20 
10 00 

6 91 



4 65 

6 57 

4 5i 
10 64 

7 00 

5 00 

5 02 
10 85 

8 29 
7 96 

9 11 

6 00 

7 43 
4 11 



Town- of 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

13 



Mount Morris 




$7 451 18 


' $4 93 


5 717 53 


4 16 


4 653 00 


5 89 


6 199 64 


4 61 


5 318 69 


5 70 


6 064 64 


4 40 


10 853 29 


4 90 


4 177 73 


6 64 


Data lack 


ing 


7 304 78 


s 50 


S 977 14 


6. 22 


5 149 47 


5 80 



Town of Ossian 

$5 120 57 
4 813 33 
Contracted 
2 506 00 
4 480 00 
6 209 82 
4 291 61 
6 389 33 

6 583 00 

7 717 20 



$4 35 
7 90 



Town of Dansville 
I $9 392 50 I 



Town of Nunda 
$4. 316 22 

2 240 00 

3 461 82 

4 323 60 

5 000 00 
7 025 78 
4 522 73 

6 246 50 
21 311 00 
L3 596 SO 



$4 38 



$7 50 
6 97 
6> 56 

10 00 
6 25 
5 00 
S 43 
S 00 
3 75 
8 56 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



137 



Table 81 (continued) 

Valuation per pupil in average daily attendance and tax rate per thousand 
dollars of assessed valuation (continued) 



12 



District 



Town of Por 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 



Valuation 
per pupil 



$5 027 27 

3 004 70 

Wyoming 

IS 047 33 

Dissolved 

6 769 64 

No children 

Contracted 

6 225 07 

8 670 56 

9 466 67 

7 346 46 



Tax 

rate 



$6 50 
S 87 

5 24 

3 SO 
19 

6 48 
3 49 
3 40 
2 51 
2 49 



District 


Valuation 
per pupil 


Tax 
rate 


Town of West Sp 


aria 

$9 067 33 
4 787 82 
8 714 43 

4 611 11 

5 383 00 

8 164 00 

6 590 44 

9 S24 83 

7 78i SO 
11 479 SO 

3 531 40 
Data incom- 
plete 


$4 58 

5 73 

6 30 
5 14 

14 23 
5 56 










6 




8 


5 56 


9 


















3 23 



Assessed valuation per pupil 

When a comparison is made of the wealth back of each pupil as 
shown by assessed valuation, it is found that district 8 of the town 
of Groveland stands first with $37,011.97 for each pupil as based 
on average daily attendance. It should be noted that this was 
greater than the total assessed valuation of each of ten districts. 
The lowest assessed valuation per pupil is found in the town of 
Nunda, district 4, in which case it is $2240, approximately one- 
seventeenth as much as in case of the district which stood first. 

There are, however, even more striking facts to be considered. 
Five districts with an assessed valuation of nearly $400,000 con- 
tracted with other districts and thus all except one avoided paying 
more than a nominal tax. Another district in which there were no 
school children escaped by levying a total of $3 ! These six districts, 
representing an assessed valuation of nearly $500,000, escaped with- 
out bearing a fair share of the burden of educating the children of 
the county. 

A comparison of tables 81 and 82 shows that the difference in 
assessed valuation per pupil in union free school districts is nearly 
as great as in common school districts, although the disparity in tax 
rate is not so marked. It is evident from an examination of these 
tables that the assessed valuation per pupil in most of the common 
school districts is higher than that of the union free school districts 
if the exception is made of Geneseo and Lima. In this connection, 
it should be borne in mind that the union free school districts are 
supporting both elementary and high schools. These data seem to 



138 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



indicate that the villages are spending money more liberally for 
schooling in proportion to their wealth than are the rural districts 
of Livingston county. 

Table 82 

Assessed valuation per pupil in average daily attendance and tax rate in union 

free school districts 



Town 



District 



Valuation 
per pupil 



Tax rate 



Avon 

Caledonia. . . . 

Geneseo 

Groveland .... 

Leicester 

York 

Lima 

Livonia 

Livonia 

Springwater . . 
Mount Morris 

Dansville 

Nunda 

Nunda 



$4 311 32 
4 392 09 

37 620 16 
6 078 03 
4 665 59 
3 284 33 

13 252 00 

2 684 27 

3 615 45 

3 057 14 

4 099 82 
4 436 94 
2 971 18 
2 772 24 



$9 38 

10 02 
3 84 

8 73 
7 34 

10 77 
3 80 

9 82 
17 13 
22 99 
10 54 
10 82 
12 66 

9 4i 



a School is conducted in cooperation with the state normal school located at Geneseo. 



Means of Improving Present Conditions 

The marked differences in assessed valuation, the pronounced 
variation in wealth back of each pupil and the large tax rate in the 
case of some districts whereas other districts having essentially the 
same school facilities escape with a very low tax rate, are weak- 
nesses of the district system. It will be difficult if not impossible 
to avoid them as long as this system is retained. What the tax- 
payers of Livingston county should seek is a system that will make 
provision for each dollar of wealth bearing its fair share of the 
burden of educating the children of the county. They should also 
endeavor to provide elementary school facilities for all portions of 
the county that are essentially equal and make high schools reasonably 
accessible. It must be evident from these data that these ends can 
not be accomplished under the district system. 

During the school year 19 18-19 the township system was in 
operation but a considerable measure of well-directed dissatis- 
faction resulted in its repeal. That it was a step in the right direc- 
tion so far as equalizing the burdens of school taxes was concerned 
is shown by a comparison of tables 79 and 83. No such marked 
differences existed under the township system as were to be found 
under the district system. The differences which ex'sted were too 
great, however. This is also shown by table 84, since the town 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



139 



having the greatest wealth per inhabitant has nearly three times as 
much per person as does the town having the least wealth per 
inhabitant 



Table 83 

Assessed valuation and the tax rate per thousand for the year 1918-19 when 
township system prevailed 



Town 



Assessed 


Tax 


valuation 


rate 


$1 408 948 


$10 59 


1 879 073 


4 17 


2 420 341 


6 07 


1 202 999 


4 15 


2 370 070 


C4 00 


1 710 732 


8 18 


1 769 683 


6 79 


1 650 710 


5 26 


876 925 


11 86 


817 881 


7 07 


1 996 781 


5 OO 


I 479 96S 


10 47 


703 033 


12 13 


764 180 


8 04 


I 116 612 


11 11 


1 459 536 


9' 61 


794 028 


8 94 


2 089 801 


11 67 


75 140 


4 49 


928 480 


11 96 


435 347 


II 82 


S12 467 


7 55 


853 722 


6 30 


617 672 


8 81 



aAvon 1 

Avon 2 

b Caledonia 

Geneseo i 

aGeneseo 2 

fcGroveland 

b Leicester 

York 1 

York 2 

Conesus 

iLima 

fcLivonia 1 

6 Livonia 2 

Sparta 

JSpringwater . . . 
aMount Morris I 

Mount Morris 2 
oDansville 1 . . . . 

Dansville 2 . . . . 

tNunda 1 

ftNunda 2 

Ossian 

Portage 

West Sparta . . . 



% a Union free school district. 

6 School unit contained a union free school. 
g£ c. Schools maintained in cooperation with the state normal school. 



Table 84 

Population, assessed valuation and valuation per inhabitant for the year 1918 
when the township system obtained 



Township 


Population 
I9IS 


Assessed 
valuation 


Valuation per 
inhabitant 




3 862 

2 102 

3 348 
1 699 

1 811 

2 802 

1 041 

2 118 
2 999 

894 

1 689 
5 005 

4 200 

2 289 
666 
962 
800 


$3 288 021 

2 420 341 

3 573 069 
1 710 732 

1 769 683 

2 527 635 
S17 881 

1 996 781 

2 182 998 
764 180 

1 116 612 

2 253 564 
2 I64 941 
I 363 827 

512 467 
8S3 722 
617 672 


SSsi 38 




1 151 45 




1 067 23 




1 006 91 




977 18 


York 


902 08 




785 67 




942 77 




727 91 




854 79 




661 11 




450 26 




504 64 




595 82 




769 47 




887 44 




772 09 







X4° THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

To remedy these marked differences, it is suggested that the 
county should be made the unit of school administration and tax- 
ation. If this were to be done, it would not be difficult by a sys- 
tem of state subsidies to make the burdens of maintaining the 
minimum school facilities essentially the same the State over. These 
changes can be brought about without loss of local initiative and 
support. 



INDEX 



Academic departments, defined, 85 

Acceleration, 42-54 

Age of a child, defined, 36; table 
for computing, 37; age-grade dis- 
tribution, 38-42, 55-50 

Agricultural teacher's salary, 59 

Agriculture, rural teachers who 
have had instruction in, jj; de- 
mand for vocational agriculture, 
58 

Arithmetic, test in, ill, 114; tables, 

121, 124, 125 

Bells, 24 
Blackboards, 20 

Buildings, rural schools, 8; interior, 
8-13 

Caledonia, modern rural school, 

illus., n 
Clocks, 21 
Community meetings in rural 

schools, 78 
Completion tests, 112, 115; tables, 

122, 128 

Desks, pupils, 18 

Desks, teachers, 20 

Dictionaries, 22 

District superintendents, 61 

Drinking facilities, 27 

Elementary grades, age, grade and 
progress of children in, 36-61 

Elementary teachers, 61-84; 
amounts paid for board and 
room, 64; certification, 74; dis- 
tribution according to age, 70; 
distribution according to home 
counties and states, 68-69; edu- 
cation and professional training, 
75; experience, 65; relation be- 
tween salaries and experience, 
65-67; hiring of, 74; professional 
magazines read by, 78; number 



of grades and children per 
teacher, 71-74; salaries, 63; 
tenure, 67 

Elimination, 42-54, 56-60 

English, tests in, 112, 115 

Equipment, 18-24 

Finances, support of schools in 

Livingston county, 132-40 
Fire protection, 17 
Flags, 24 
Floors, oiled, 25 
Furniture, 18-24 

Globes, 24 

Grade work, principals of union 

schools as supervisors of, 62 
Grades, see Elementary grades 

Handwriting, test in, 112, 116; 
tables, 123, 130 

Fleating, 13 

High school teachers, see Second- 
ary teachers 

High schools, reasons for small en- 
rollment, 57 

Homemaking, see Vocational home- 
making 

Household art, rural teachers who 
have had instruction in, jj 

Janitor service, 24-27 

Junior high school, object of, 59 

Lavatory facilities, 28 

Libraries, 21 

Licenses, range of subjects the cer- 
tificates license the holders to 
teach, 99-101 

Light, 10-13 

Lighting, artificial, 13 

Livingston county, description, 2>~7> 
map, 6; schools, 7 



[141] 



142 



THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



Magazines, see Periodicals 

Map of Livingston county, 6 

Maps, 24 

Measurements of achievements of 

pupils, 109-31 
Mental tests, 109-31 
Musical equipment, 23 

Parents and the rural teacher, 78 

Parochial schools, comparative 
study of children, 48-54; distribu- 
tion of children in, 52, 106; re- 
tardation, 53; age-grade distribu- 
tion for grades in, 55-56 

Periodicals, professional, read by 
elementary teachers, 78; read by 
secondary teachers, 98 

Physical training teachers, 101 

Pictures, 21 

Playground apparatus, 32 

Playgrounds, 31 

Pointers, 24 

Principals of secondary schools, 85- 
88 

Principals of union schools as sup- 
ervisors of grade work, 62 

Readers, supplementary, 23 

Reading, paragraph, tests in, 112, 
115; tables, 122, 127 

Retardation, 42-54, 56-60 

Rulers, 24 

Rural schools, 7-36; buildings, 8; 
interior of buildings, 8-13; com- 
munity meetings in, 78; com- 
parative study of children, 48-54; 
distribution of school children, 
51; tables, 105, 106, 107; equip- 
ment, 18-24; furniture, 18-24; 
grounds, 30-33; heating, 13-18; 
janitor work and supplies, 24-27; 
result in tests in, 113; toilets, 28- 
30; ventilation 13-18; water sup- 
ply, 27-28; conclusions and 
recommendations, 82-84; sum- 
mary, 33-35 

Rural teachers, professional train- 
ing, 76-77; who have had in- 
struction in agriculture and 
household art, yj; and the par- 



ents, 78; attitude toward their 
positions, 79-82; relation between 
number of schools in which they 
have taught and their experience, 
table, 108 

Salaries, elementary teachers, 63; 
principals of secondary schools, 
85-86; secondary school teachers, 



School buildings, see Buildings 

School day, length, 93 

School fairs and home projects, 79 

School grounds, 30-33 

Schoolrooms, number, 8; size, 9 

Secondary departments, retardation 
and elimination, 56-60 

Secondary schools, principals, 85-88; 
length of school day, 93; size of 
classes, 95 

Secondary teachers, 85-104; certifi- 
cation, 99; number of classes 
taught by, 94; distribution ac- 
cording to their ages, 92; di- 
versity of teachers' work, 95-97; 
education, 97-98; employed in 
their home town, 91; experience, 
90; hiring of, 93; licenses, 99- 
101; professional periodicals read 
by, 98; salaries, 88-90; amounts 
paid for board and room, 89; 
tenure, 90-91; conclusions, 102-4 

Spelling, test in, 112, 116; tables, 
122, 129 

Superintendents, see District super- 
intendents 

Support of schools in Livingston 
county, 132-40 

Sweeping and dusting, 25-27 

Taxes, support of schools in Liv- 
ingston county, 132-40 

Teachers, see Elementary teachers; 
Physical training teachers; Rural 
teachers; Secondary teachers; 
Vocational teachers 

Tests, measurements of achieve- 
ments of pupils, 109-31 

Thermometers, 14 

Toilets, 28-30 



INDEX TO LIVINGSTON COUNTY SURVEY 



143 



Union schools., age-grade distribu- 
tion for grades in, 55-56; com- 
parative study of children, 48-54; 
courses of study, 58; definition, 
36; distribution of children, 
tables, 105, 107; principals as 
supervisors of grade work, 62; 
secondary school instruction 
given in, 85; result of tests in, 
113 



Ventilation, 13, 15, 17 
Vocabulary tests, 112; table, 126 
Vocational agriculture, demand for, 

58 
Vocational homemaking, 58 
Vocational teachers, 101 

Walls, 9 

Waste baskets, 24 
Water supply, 27-28 
Window shades, 12 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



022 115 431 9 




